Old Faces, New Tricks
by brihun2388
Summary: While on a hunt Sam gets kidnapped by a couple of shifters wearing Dean John's faces. Unfortunately for them they never met a Sam who's concussed and on pain killers. Now this is shifter Dean's new favorite past time! hurt Sam / angry protective Dean/John.
1. Chapter 1

***Hi! Now I wasn't planning on writing this particular story, but it popped in my head and I couldn't not write it! I also intended for it to be a one shot, but Im definitely a multi-chapter girl. It will be short, maybe 3 chapters. Enjoy!***

 ***** **Disclaimer: These awesome being known as Sam and Dean are not mine, and I do not own Supernatural. ):**

 ***This is set sometime in S.1 after 'Skin'. Maybe even S.2, but either way the boys are young. ***

 ***Supernatural doesn't start until Oct. 13th. Until then I'm going to try and keep myself busy with stories. Btw I'll start publishing the other two stories that I originally told you about soon enough.***

 ***Enjoy!***

break

It was a rough hunt. After what happened with Becky and Zach Dean was positive he hated Shapeshifters just as much if not more than witches. Dean was hesitant letting Sam in on this hunt. If he was smart he would have said he was heading out for food, met up with their dad, and taken care of the problem. But of course lying and pissing off Sam was never in the books, and after all Sam was an adult, Dean figured it wasn't a bad idea for Sam to tag along on the shapeshifter hunt after all. Not to mention their father was meeting up with them for this one, and with two Winchester's looking after Sam what could happen?

While chasing the shifter through the woods they didn't pay attention to the order they were in. When their dad was around it was John in front, Sam in the middle, and Dean in the back. But since separating from their dad, Dean was always in front of Sam. So here we are, John and Dean running through the dense woods in the direction they saw the shifter run, and Sam coming up from the back. Sure he was as fast as his family, but not when he gets knocked in the face with a branch he didn't see coming. What he did see afterwards were stars and a spinning sky. He wanted to shout for his brother and dad, but all he really wanted to do was throw up. After a good minute, he closed his eyes, and fell asleep. Not noticing the two pairs of hands grabbing him.

It took Dean about five minutes to realize Sam wasn't behind him, stopped dead in his tracks, and looked in back of him hoping he was wrong.

"Sam?!"

John hearing Dean's distress call to his brother made him stop in his tracks also. He kept looking towards where he was running and back at his son.

"Dean what's going on?"

"I don't know where Sam is."

Dean took off in a mad dash from where they just came from. John growled and ran in the same direction as his son, who he saw was actually running faster in the opposite direction away from the path they were running. Sam possibly being in danger will do that to him.

It didn't take long for Dean to come across a scene he was hoping wasn't true. He was hoping he would find his brother with a twisted ankle or something stupid, but right away his instincts peeked up. He saw a big spot where it looked like a 6'4" Sammy once laid. Ok so if this spot is here and Sam isn't, where did he go?

Just then he noticed two sets of boot prints in the ground around the Sammy form. He followed them with his eyes and noticed only the two pairs of boot prints were seen, and leading away the indent in the soil was deeper, which meant they were carrying something. A little brother kind of something.

Dean figured this out in his head before John made it to the same sight.

"Dean what is it?"

"How far back did we lose the shifter?"

"Not much long ago…"

"And was there one or two of them?"

"The accounts only specify one shifter…"

"Yeah but there could be a second one if it needed help."

"Dean what are you getting at? And where's Sam?"

John looked down and examined the area just like Dean did. He didn't need the snarl on Dean's face to tell him what he just figured out for himself.

Two boot prints were carrying something heavy away. Dam it.

"The shifter must have back tracked, and it had to have another one helping it, but it was not to be noticed so we wouldn't be expecting the extra threat." John said out loud while examining the area.

Dean was fuming. He made a silent pact to himself after what happened with his shifter look alike beat the shit out of Sam and almost killed him that he was going to be better at protecting the kid. Sure Sam could take of himself, but then things like this happen catching him way off guard, and he gets overpowered by a couple of shifters. It made Dean even more nervous to know there were two of them this time. What did they want with Sam? Hopefully they didn't catch on yet that if they have Sam, they hold all the cards, but then why take just Sam unless they wanted something from the other two Winchester's?

Thinking Sam was going to be held hostage made Dean see red, and right away he followed the boot prints towards what he was hoping was the lair in which they would find Sam. Their luck wasn't that good, but who knows, maybe this time will be different…yeah right.

John had to practically run to catch up with Dean. His oldest was a dam good hunter and tracker, and was even better when Sam was in danger. There was no stone unturned when it came to Sam. The thought would have put a smile on his face if he wasn't worried about his youngest in the hands of two very dangerous shifters that were doing god knows what to Mary's baby right now. He was just hoping they weren't going to kill him just out of spite.

~*SPN*~

Dean came to the edge of the woods. Looking around he saw the impala in the distance, and also noticed the prints were gone, but there were tire tracks to a car that was no longer in the parking lot.

Well fuck.

Those bastards made away with Sam in a car, and after the road he had no idea where they could have gone. He could tell by the tire marks before the dirt hit the road which general direction the car went, but other than that it was smooth pavement.

The two men didn't have to be told twice before jumping into the beloved impala. Once Dean got in the passenger seat he noticed a white envelope addressed 'Dean and John.' Dean opened it quickly and discovered a handwritten note.

 _"_ _By now you must have realized we have Sam. If you ever want to see him again you will follow our instructions. Expect a call tomorrow at noon. Hold tight until then!_

 _-The Shifters_

Dean crumpled up the paper and threw it on the floor of the impala. John ran his hand down his face and was trying to think up a plan. Dean was pissed and trying to control himself from losing his mind. He wanted someone to hit, but at the moment the two people he really wanted to hit where nowhere in sight. He looked at his dad.

"They expect us to wait until noon tomorrow to make a move?! No way. They couldn't have gotten to dam far. Tonight we search every sewer system in this dam town and if he's not there we move onto the abandoned houses and barns."

"If we go looking for them they might panic and just kill him on the spot before moving on to the next town. It's too risky and we can't risk Sam's life like that."

It was killing John not going out on the town and looking for Sam, but they had to be smart about this and not panic. Dean hit the dashboard out of rage.

"That's not good enough dad! While you were missing you know what happened? Sam was taken by a shape shifter wearing my face, and it tried to kill him! It taunted him and hurt him so bad mentally I wasn't sure if we were ever going to be ok again. I can't let this happen a second time…I can't."

This was news to John. The boys didn't tell him everything that went on while he was out trying to hunt the yellow eyed demon, and he figured since they were both alive that nothing really major happened. But a Dean look alike trying to kill Sam? That's pretty damaging considering he knew how close the boys were.

"I'm sorry that happened Dean, but it's obvious they want something from us, and as long as Sam is alive we will do what they say. They aren't going to kill him. We have time. But if we go running around the city punching people and burning things, they might get panicked and kill him anyway. Now we are going back to the motel, go over everything we know about this hunt, and regain our composure for when the shifters call."

Dean hated the idea of sitting on his ass while his little brother was once again in the arms of danger. Maybe he should just put a bell around the kid's neck. Then something his dad said made his smile and chuckle a little.

"What's so funny?"

"I just found our new moto _. Punching people, burning things, the family business_."

Even John had to crack a smile at that. The situation wasn't funny in the slightest, but he had to agree with Dean. That was a pretty good saying, and it was fairly accurate. They did punch people, and they burnt corpses. Sam would have gotten a kick out of it…Sam.

The thought of Sam brought John out of his thoughts. He started up the car, and headed towards the motel. They had a lot of work to do.

 ***Things got pretty serious there! The rest of the story is going to be more entertaining and humorous.***

 ***BTW everyone see Jared's new campaign? For every sale $1 goes towards the Orlando shooting victims.***


	2. Chapter 2

***** **Correction** **: I said this could take place between seasons 1 & 2, except John died at the end of S.1. Soooo I'm going to blame this on me being tired, cause I refuse to believe that I am a bad fan. haha.***

 ***Thank you everyone who reviewed/liked/ and favorited.***

 ***I said this was going to be about 3 chapters, but it might be more like 5, but no promises.***

2 a.m

The two shifters currently wearing John and Dean's faces were driving. 'John was driving, checking behind him every 10 seconds just to make sure they weren't being followed, and 'Dean' was currently in the back seat leaning up against the window, with an unconscious Sam on his back against 'Dean's' chest, and he was holding Sam's wrists together . The shifters weren't taking any chances. Sure they managed to capture Sam, but he was still a trained hunter, and now he was backed into a corner.

The two men sat in silence all the way to a gas station. They didn't want to stop, but it wasn't going to be long. 'John' wanted to get to the abandoned cabin before Sam woke up.

Shifter John stopped at a gas pump, and started getting out of the car before looking back at shifter Dean.

"Hey."

'Dean' looked up.

"If the kid wakes up give him some pain killers. We don't need him freaking out while I'm driving. Actually I'm just going to get the rope just in case."

"No! I told you I could handle him and I meant it! Plus what happens if we get pulled over?"

"Let's just put him in the trunk then."

"It's hot in the trunk and there's no air flow. You want him to die before we get to where we are going? I told you I got him and I meant it dam it! Now go pay for the dam gas and let's go!"

'John' mumbled something under his breath and closed the door hard.

'Dean' didn't know what was happening to him. He's killed maybe over a hundred people for petty things. He was a great thief and con artist. Of course that's easy when you're wearing someone else's face. None of the bad things he's ever done, even the murder, has ever phased him before. But for some reason, this was different.

'Dean' and 'John' took the new skins of the elder Winchester's maybe just a day before going through with the actual plan. It was simple. Take Sam, make Dean and John do what they wanted, and kill them. Well technically it was just to kill Sam and if they got around to it kill Dean and John to. That would take care of a lot of problems. But once he was completely transformed into Dean, something in him changed. It was easy enough to ignore, until he witnessed seeing his partner hit Sam in the face with a huge tree branch. The second he saw him lying there on the ground hurt, he wanted to actually help the kid. There was something telling him to grab Sam and run away from the threat. He pushed those thoughts aside, and helped his partner carry Sam to the stolen car.

The thoughts didn't end there. 'John' wanted to tie up Sam and throw him in the trunk, but again something inside 'Dean' was telling him 'NO! ABSOULUTELY NO!" So he made a compelling case that Sam isn't awake, and if he was he could handle him. In reality he couldn't stand seeing this kid hurt, let alone hurt, tied up and thrown into a freaking trunk. He had no idea where these thoughts of wanting to protect his hostage came from, but they were coming as natural to him as breathing.

Everyone knew about Dean. He was protective of his family, and especially of Sam. That was no secret in the supernatural world. And ever since taking Dean's skin he was feeling protective of Sam…hence the problem. He knew he had a job to do. Shifter's usually work alone, but once the other shifter came to him talking about killing the Winchesters, he was all game. He wanted to slowly kill the youngest while Dean and John watched, and then kill them to. But now? Now he wanted to keep this kid in his arms safe and away from the other shifter. He was hoping he could get Dean and John to do whatever they wanted, then let Sam go and take another face.

'Dean' looked down at Sam. He brushed a strand of hair off his eyes, and grinned.

 _'_ _NO DAM IT! I AM A RUTHLESS KILLING MACHINE! I WILL NOT LET THE LIKES OF SAM WINCHESTER GET ME SOFT!'_

The shifter then analyzed the thought and started laughing. He usually wouldn't laugh at his own thoughts, but that sentence made him want to tease and make fun of Sam about him losing his virginity late in life.

He stopped laughing and looked up towards the gas station where he saw an irate 'John' standing in line behind a million people.

' _Dean has a great sense of humor. I'll miss his skin_.'

The shifter shook his head and looked down at Sam who had his eyes wide open. 'Dean' screamed and closed his eyes, one thing he wasn't expecting was for Sam to be awake! He composed himself, took a breath, opened his eyes, and looked back down at his young hostage, hoping the strike to the head was going to give him a pretty bad concussion. He figured it did since he still had Sam's wrists pinned against his chest and he wasn't fighting it.

"Hey…"

'Dean' didn't know what to say. This was going to be the first time even talking to Sam. And why was he nervous in the first place? Sam looked up at him with two huge dilated pupils.

"Hey." It was a whisper, but 'Dean' heard it.

"Um uh, how you feelin'?"

"Dean, why are you holding my wrists?"

'Dean could tell Sam was out of it. The kid was whispering and not struggling. Not to mention those pupils were enormously big. He would have to dig into his memory bank to see why those huge eyes were having such an effect on him….Ah there it was. Sam reminded him of a puppy! A wounded puppy. He got some memories of the real Dean teasing him about his 'puppy dog eyes,' and now he gets to witness it in full bloom. His instincts were telling him one thing while his head was telling him the other. Eventually his head won.

"You got a concussion. I was just making sure you didn't fall off the seat and hit your head on anything while we were driving."

This was 'Deans' test. If Sam bought that then he was way out of it with the concussion. He saw the wheels turning in Sam's head before he answered back.

"Oh ok."

Dean let out a breath. Ok so the kid was way out of it. This shouldn't be too bad. Dean let one hand go, and reached in the bag that was on the floor. He pulled out a bottle of water and two pills.

"Here take these. You are going to have one hell of a headache if you don't already."

Sam let 'Dean' put the pills in his mouth, and drank the water when Dean put it up to his lips. He closed his eyes and started to relax, until he noticed something.

"Aaaaahhhhhh!"

Sam's screams made 'Dean' jump.

"What is it?!"

"DEAN! THE SUN WHERE IS THE SUN."

Ah ha.

"Um, it's night time."

The shifter looked down at Sam and saw him start to panic.

"Dean, what if the sun comes back?! What happens if it wants to kill us?! I won't let it kill you Dean! Oh wait, I can't let you kill it either! What are we going to do?!"

'Dean' couldn't help but start laughing. Man Sam was hilarious when he had a concussion! He couldn't wait to see what he was like when the pills kicked in if he didn't fall asleep right away!

"Sammy it's ok. If the sun tries to kill us, the man in the moon will protect us, and put the sun in its place." He figures he would match crazy for crazy and hoped it would work.

'Dean' noticed Sam start to relax a little. Man this kid was something. He's never heard such a funny sentence coming from such a serious face.

He saw John finally coming out of the gas station. He knew he was swearing and cursing under his breath, but decided to ignore it and focus on his captive below him.

"That's good. The moon is good. Just like in that book." Sam managed this sentence in something of a slur.

Sam slowly started closing his eyes. Good the pills were taking effect.

"Thanks for taking care of me De…" And just like that Sam was out and limp in his arms.

Something Sam said really struck a nerve.

'He _thought I was taking care of him when I was the one who hurt him and took him away from his family in the first place.'_

The young shifter was conflicted. He knew he needed to keep with the original plan, yet he knew he couldn't actual hurt this kid in his arms. He blew out a long breath.

 _'_ _This is going to be a long few days.'_

Shifter John got back in the car and slammed the door hard. He turned around in his seat and glared at 'Dean'.

"That was the most annoying thing in the world. The cashier was new and had no idea what he was doing. Did he wake up?"

"…No. He stayed passed out."

"Good."

'John' turned around, started the car, and drove off.

He didn't want to lie to his partner, but 'Dean' knew that if 'John' found out Sam had woken up, he wouldn't have a say as to putting him in the trunk. Now for the moment, all he could do is hope the real Dean and John did what they said. He knew if they didn't, shifter John would hurt Sam in some way. He would try to not let that happen, but the chances were slim that he would win. Yup. This was going to be a very long kidnapping.

 ***What is shifter Dean going to do?!***


	3. Chapter 3

***First of all my apologies for such a long awaited up-date. I got a second opinion about me being sick all the time, and well the meds he gave me did not interact well with my body AT ALL. I was sick in bed for 3 days, couldn't walk in a straight line or talk, let alone wright. I'm FINALLY ok, and see my doc again in a few days. Secondly sorry this a shorter chapter than norm. My brain is still fuzzy, which again if something doesn't make sense, it's because I don't have a beta yet to tell me so. But I wanted to put SOMETHING up for you people. lol. As an added bonus I'm also putting up my other story I've been working on as a thank-you for everyone being patient. I was going to wait until this story was finished but what the hell right?***

 ***ALSO I was just at CTCONN (the anime convention here in CT) and it was pretty ok. I dressed up as a Supernatural fan girl! haha. But now that I'm starting to feel better, I'll be able to update more (hopefully.)**

After a long dive, shifter John checked into a motel under 'John Winchester'. He didn't even care about being caught by using the name, because if the real Dean and John caught up to them they could grab Sam and getaway easily. No way would they risk hurting the youngest member of their family!

Shifter Dean stayed in the cramped back seat of the impala, still holding Sam close to his chest even though the kid was still passed out from the drugs. Except he wasn't holding him close to keep him controlled, he was holding him close to show shifter John HE was the one to 'deal' with Sam. He knew the kidnapping had to be done in order to get what was needed, and at the end they were planning on killing everyone, but now, well now shifter Dean wanted no part in it. He was about to get into the driver's seat and take off with Sam in tow, but shifter John came out and quickly opened the door.

"Now I made sure we were in a room in the back of the building on the top floor so it would be harder for them to get to us, and we could see them coming if they did manage to catch up."

Shifter Dean just sat there. Sam was more in his protective 'embrace' than being held captive. He didn't know whether he should fight shifter John or just go along with it for now.

"HEY!"

Shifter John yelled at a dazed Dean who was currently weighing his options.

Shifter John, whose real name was Mathis, was stronger and smarter than shifter Dean, whose real name was Tobias, Toby for short. If Toby tried to fight Mathis, he would loose and everyone would die. Including Sam. And every instinct In his body was telling him to be smart about this and get them all out alive. The idea went against everything he has ever believed in, but for some reason being Dean made him more cunning and dare he say caring? But not just caring of people. Caring of Sam. Once everyone was asleep he would have to down load into Dean's memory bank some more and see why he was so protective of this kid, when normally he would just beat the crap out of him, tie him up, and leave him to die a slow and painful death once his family did what they wanted them to do.

"You want help bringing that kid upstairs or can you do it on your own?"

"No no. I can do it just give me a few minutes."

The response seemed to appease John as he left and headed towards the room.

'Dean' let out a breath. HE would be in charge of Sam, while 'John' would be in charge of the older Winchester's. Then when everything went smoothly he could let Sam go and change his face.

Very carefully 'Dean' positioned himself so that he could ease himself and Sam out of the car without any further damage. He made sure no one was looking when he carried Sam bridal style from the car, up to the second floor, and to the room with ease. He wondered if the real Dean would be able to pull this off. Carrying this drugged up kid who was four inches taller and a ton heavier wasn't a cake walk. If it wasn't for himself being a supernatural creature he was sure he wouldn't be able to do it.

'Dean' kicked the door until 'John' quickly answered. 'Dean' carried Sam inside and instantly to the second bed furthest from the door…why he did that he wasn't sure. That was another memory he had to down load later for another time. He sat there on the bed when a pair of hand cuffs and some rope was tossed in front of him.

"Um what's this?" 'Dean' knew exactly what 'John' wanted him to do, and the thought was making him angry,.

"Are you stupid? Tie him up! And tie him up good. John taught his boys well and I don't want him escaping before we get what we need so hurry up!"

And with that 'John' exited to the bathroom. 'Dean' could hear the sink running and he knew he was getting ready for the 'nights activities.'

Mathis liked to travel from town to town just killing random people. Before him and Toby met he was the same way, except Toby would take the identities of wealthy business men, kill their families, empty the bank accounts, change skins and never be heard from again. He now had a ton of money stashed somewhere only he knew of. What he was going to do with it was a different story. He didn't plan that far ahead yet.

Hearing the water in the bathroom turn off Toby grabbed the cuffs and cuffed Sam's hands above his head to the headboard. He knew Mathis has come out of the bathroom and looking at the two younger men.

"So Toby, what do you say after we get him all set we go and paint the town red. Literally."

Toby looked up and saw an evil grin on his partner's face, which made him move closer to Sam.

"I'm pretty tired. Plus what if those fucker's actually find us? There has to be one of us here guarding him."

Mathis studied his younger partner. He did have a point. The real John and Dean might just disobey orders and track them down anyway. He looked at the handcuffs on Sam and sighed.

"Ok fine. I'm heading out. Any sign of those ass holes and kill Sam on the spot. He's not even conscience and he's more trouble than he's worth."

Mathis grabbed his old army jacket and slammed the door behind him. Toby knew he would be gone all night drinking and murdering people, so if Sam actually did wake up, maybe he could talk to him even. Sure he had Dean's memories, but the ones of Sam were one minded.

 _'_ _Protect Sammy.'_

 _'_ _Keep Sam close by.'_

 _'_ _Take embarrassing photos of Sam as he sleeps in the impala.'_

 _'_ _Don't let anything hurt Sam.'_

 _'_ _Prank wars….fun ass prank wars.'_

Then there were those very random memories. But he actually wanted to _talk_ to Sam. He knew about the whole Stanford drama, but he didn't really know the whole story. Just bits and pieces. He also knew about a girl named Jess that died in a fire and it devastated Sam, but other than that? He just wanted Sam to talk to him. Maybe if he played his cards right he could convince Sam to except him for what he really was and run away with him and become brothers? That's a long shot considering the real Dean would never go for it. And how did he know that? Because at the moment he _was_ Dean, and he knew Sam wouldn't run away with a monster wearing his brother's face.

Toby couldn't stand seeing Sam In the handcuffs, so for right now he decided to take them off of him. If Sam thought this was really Dean he wouldn't fight him anyway, and just maybe, they could actually talk before Mathis came back. Then after that? Who knew what was going to happen. All Toby knew, was he was going to protect Sam. No matter what.


	4. Chapter 4

***side note: Im just going to refer to shifter Dean as Toby since now you know his real name now. Same as for Mathis.***

 ***Also I hope this chpt. makes sense. I'm pretty tired, but I'll fix it if it doesn't. Thanks.***

 ***Again no beta.***

Dean couldn't stop pacing around the motel room him and John were currently in. They should have done more research and realized that there were two shifters involved instead of one, Dean should have had Sam in front of him instead of in back of him.

When their dad was gone Dean was so used to charging ahead, going in front of Sam so he was between him and danger, that when John was back in the picture he charged ahead again leaving Sam behind.

None of the men knew the shifters real intent, but Dean knew he shouldn't have taken his eyes off of Sam for a second.

Kind of the same thing happened when Sam was fifteen and Dean was nineteen. Sam was still growing into his legs so he was very uncoordinated, so when Dean got over-zealous and flew ahead of him side by side with John, he never noticed when Sam fell and hit his head on a rock. Then instead of just lying there he got up, was very confused, and started walking aimlessly threw the dense forest. It wasn't until Dean and John killed the werewolf that they actually noticed Sam was missing. They blamed each other, but Dean knew Sam was ultimately HIS responsibility, and he lost him.

They easily found him that time staggering threw the forest, not knowing what the heck was going on and needed stitches in his forehead. Dean didn't leave his side for a long time after that.

At least that time he wasn't knocked out and then taken by a couple of dam creatures that didn't care if he lived or died. And what was killing Dean was he didn't know what they were actually doing to Sam. Were they hurting him? Was he already dead…? He didn't even want to fathom that last question.

Then the whole incident with the 'Dean' shifter in St. Louis. That one was still fresh, way too fresh. The dam thing was going to kill Sam using Dean's face. But once Dean saw himself chocking the life out of his little brother, those silver bullets couldn't fly fast enough to kill him. And the second he found out that this case was another shifter case, he should have just let John and another hunter handle it. But of course he insisted he put on a strong front and convinced himself he was over it, which made Sam ok with the whole thing. And now look where they are? Sam is in the hands of two dangerous shifters and he didn't know if he could get to him in time.

Hopefully the shifters would let him talk to Sam when they called in….10 hours and 23 minutes. But who was counting?

John finally looked up from the files and peered at Dean.

"Dam it Dean pacing won't do anything to help."

Dean looked up from his pacing and glared at his father.

"Neither is sitting here but that's exactly what you're doing."

Dean knew he was being out of line, but John didn't know what the hell they went through. The first night after the first shifter incident, how Sam would flinch when Dean would make any sudden movements towards him. It just about killed him. John stood up and walked towards Dean.

"Dam it Dean this was a set up. This wasn't some random shifter killings, they killed to lure us here, so that they could get to Sam, so they could make us do whatever they wanted us to do. This was well planned on their part so we need to be careful. Any sudden movements from us and the shifters could panic and just kill him. We need to wait and see what the hell it is they want first."

Deep down he knew his father was right. These bastards planned this, which meant they were already two steps ahead.

Dean settled down on his bed and put his head in his hands. He was at a total loss, not in control of this hunt, and his brother was in trouble. Never a good combination.

Dean looked at his father.

"I'm going to the bar."

Without another word Dean left. He didn't even take the impala, he just left. He needed time to walk and clear his head.

He had his gun with him. He always did. He could go into the sewers right now and look around. But it's possible they wouldn't be there and he would have wasted all that time.

For now Dean was going to walk, and get drunk, and count down the minutes until those bastards called him.

~*SPN*~

Toby couldn't help but keep looking over to Sam every now and then. He had some time before Mathis got back, so he was hoping to talk to the kid. Maybe even come to a conclusion as to what to do when Mathis did come back. He wasn't downloading the real John's memories as he should. Not as fast or as much as Toby.

Maybe that's why Toby felt such a pull towards Sam. He was trying to download as many as Dean's memories as possible to see why his personality has taken a full 180. After a while he started to get a headache.

He ran his fingers threw his hair, and was tempted to go for a walk when he heard a moan coming from Sam. He stayed seated watching the younger man finally start to wake up.

Finally hazel eyes met hazel eyes. Toby didn't know exactly how to react in this situation. Could Sam notice right away that this isn't the real Dean just by looking into his eyes?

"De…" Sam's hands went to his head and Toby stood up.

"Ummm…Hey. How do you feel?"

Toby was trying to not act awkward around Sam, but it was hard.

"My head hurts and everything is fuzzy."

Right away Dean got up, get some strong muscle relaxers and a glass of water, and sat down on the bed next to Sam, who drank the water and took the pills without question.

He tried to sit up when Toby held him back down.

"Whoa I'm pretty sure you have a concussion there. Just relax for a little while."

Sam was confused. Not just concussed confused, but drugged confused. But Dean was only giving him something like extra strength Tylenol right? That's all they only really needed. Yet the extreme fog in his brain and the extreme cotton mouth was telling him otherwise.

"Dean what are you giving me?"

"Just something stronger than Tylenol."

All Sam did was nod in confusion. He would get a straight answer once his head felt better he was sure.

"Where's dad?"

Toby swallowed and couldn't make contact with him. He just looked away and down.

"Out to the bar."

"Ah." Was all Sam could manage to come out with. Then he really start to think about it.

"What happened with the shifters?"

Toby thought about it.

"We killed them. They knocked you out but me and dad got them."

He was playing into this 'Dean' role quite nicely. Granted the only real reason why Sam was truly buying into it was because of the head injury and because he was drugged up, but if Sam accepted him, this could be ok.

Maybe he could keep Sam drugged until the real Dean and John got them what they needed, then he could come clean with Sam and they could be cool with each other. But again he downloaded a lot of Dean's memories, and knew Sam wouldn't just run away with him. Not to mention when the real Dean caught up he was a dead man…or shifter. Whatever.

It would make things so much simpler just to wait until Sam was asleep again and change into a random skin. That way he didn't feel such a protective pull towards Sam, and they could get the job at hand done.

But he didn't want a different skin. He actually liked being in Dean's skin. And he liked the pull towards Sam. Everything seemed so right for the first time. But he knew he needed the amulet.

There was the amulet being held in the local museum that wasn't VERY important to people, but it was valuable to the supernatural realm. And Mathis wanted it more than anything. That's why he enrolled the help of Tobias.

He knew one shifter against 3 Winchester's were bad odds, but 2? He may be able to pull it off. And he did. And now that they had Sam, they knew John and Dean would do whatever they could to get Sam back. Including breaking into the museum and stealing the amulet for them.

The amulet gave the supernatural possessor the ability to do whatever it was their hearts desired. It went as far back as pirates trying to use its powers, but because it was useless to them it never worked and was lost in the museum rounds.

But Mathis somehow learned of its trick, and wanted it. For what Toby didn't know, but he certainly didn't like it.

The only catch was the supernatural couldn't actually touch the dam thing. It had to be bathed in human blood and then could be touched by something other than human hands. Hence why they needed John and Dean to steal it. They couldn't touch it…yet.

So once they got the amulet covered in blood, the Winchester's got Sam back…That was the 'plan.'

But Toby knew Mathis was going to use Sam's blood to use dam thing, and that's what scared him. He was going to bleed the kid dry.

Toby was brought out of his thoughts as Sam yawned and saw as his eye lids started to get droopy.

"Man whatever you're giving me is making me sleep like crazy. Maybe change up the meds a little."

Toby felt bad for always having to drug Sam, but he knew if he didn't that he would fight, and Mathis would kill him.

"Sure dude. I'll look for something less potent."

That was all Toby said as he watched Sam fall back into the pillow and bury his face into it. Sure he wanted to talk to Sam, but it was getting to dam dangerous.

Finally he made a decision. He was sick and tired of Mathis calling the shots. He didn't want Mathis to lay a finger on Sam.

Toby packed up his meager belongings quickly. He needed to be as fast as possible.

Next he looked out into the parking lot and saw an older car that would fit a 6' 4" sleeping Winchester. Perfect.

He quickly picked the car door and threw his things inside.

Next he went into the room. He carefully wrapped a still falling asleep Sam in the sheets, and started to carry him to the car in a rush.

"De…"

Toby looked down while speed walking and then looked back up.

"Uhhhh yeah."

"Are you…are you carrying me somewhere?"

"Uh yeah Sam I am. Just trust me on this ok?"

"Oh sure ok….hey Dean?"

"Yeah."

"Since when are you able to carry me like this?"

Toby was going to answer when he noticed Sam had passed out. Thank god for potent drugs.

'Good. No more questions.'

Toby put Sam into the backseat of the car. He was willing to make a run for it to save Sam from whatever Mathis had planned, but he knew he had to hurry.

And hell maybe if he even talked to John and Dean they could all take down Mathis and stop him from getting his evil grubby hands on that dam amulet…IF they listened to him AFTER he got Sam to a safe location.

Once Sam was securely in the car Toby hot-wired the it, and took off in the opposite direction than Mathis. This wasn't the best plan he has ever come up with, and he certainly wasn't used to 'saving' someone. But right now, this is how his body was responding. All his mind was saying was ' _Save Sam._ '

Toby was sure he was in the clear, until he saw a pair of high beams behind him. He thought it was a normal car until it sped up faster and actually rammed him from behind making him jolt.

"Son of a bitch!"

At first he thought it was the impala, but no way would they try to ram a car off the road that Sam was in.

It was Mathis.

The son of a bitch somehow figured out Toby wouldn't let this whole plan go down, and didn't travel as far as he said he would. Hell he was probably waiting outside the motel road somewhere to see if he could trust him.

Toby looked back at Sam and saw him stir but not wake up. Then he felt something else come over him. Something stronger than he has ever felt.

The phrase 'Over protective big brother mode' came into his thoughts, and he smiled.

This was a different kind of adrenaline. He was running away protecting someone rather than running towards something trying to kill them. It was different, it was over powering.

For the first time in his life he was responsible for someone, and he liked it.

Of course once he lost his skin he wouldn't have the same urges, but for now, while he was in Dean's skin, he had to get away.

Unfortunately Mathis was right on his heels, and without warning got bumped from the side back, which made him slid the car right into a tree.

Toby hit his head on the steering wheel, but he could somewhat tell what was going on around him.

He was dazed and confused now himself, and couldn't heal or move fast enough.

He heard a car door squeak open and looked out his left driver's side window. He saw an angry Mathis standing over him with a gun.

"I knew I couldn't trust you. Should have done this shit alone."

With that Toby heard a gunshot, and felt a hot pain in his abdomen, and it took him a minute to realize he was shot. He flinched and closed his eyes, also trying to breath threw the pain.

He didn't open his eyes until he heard another door creaking open, and when he looked again he saw Mathis with Sam cradled in his arms.

He wanted so badly to fight him, but the pain from the car wreck and gun would was too much to bare.

"I'll take care of everything from here. I hope you bleed out slowly." Was all Mathis said as he readjusted his hold on Sam and started walking away.

Toby wanted to give chase, but he knew he wouldn't win. He not only failed as a shifter, he failed as a second Dean.

' _Dam. This is what Dean felt like losing Sam'_

His breathing became heavier, until finally he closed his eyes, and passed out from the pain.

~*SPN*~

Dean was so lost in thought he walked right past the bar and just kept walking down the deserted road. He would get a drink on his way back to the motel, but right now he needed a clear head.

He walked for what seemed like a few hours before seeing something weird. He saw the tail lights on of a car, and said car was wrapped around a tree.

Without thinking he took off at a sprint to see if the occupant was still alive.

He pulled open the driver's door and noticed someone very familiar behind the wheel…himself.

"What the fuck.?"

He was going to investigate further when a pair of familiar green eyes sudden locked on his. It was eerie seeing himself in a car, with a head wound, and blood everywhere. He got closer to his doppelganger and checked for Injuries.

"Man what is going on? What are you?"

Toby coughed and looked up at the real Dean.

"Sam in trouble…gatta…find him…"

That was all the shifter said as he passed out again.

Dean cursed. This must have been one of the asshole that took Sam in the first place, but nothing else was making sense.

He took the shifter by the shoulders, and shook him.

"Wake up you piece of shit! Now where the hell is Sam?"

Toby opened his eyes slightly and peered at Dean.

"Taken…blood amulet…find him fast."

Then Toby collapsed again.

Dean cursed under his breath, pulled out his cell, and called his father.

"Yeah dad it's me. I have one of the shifters that took Sam, and it's not a pretty sight."

It was then that Dean noticed the bullet wound. This was going to be another long night.


	5. Chapter 5

***Just another warning: I have no beta. I feel the need to remind everyone all the time because I can re-read the same chapter 3 times looking for mistakes or some kind of error on my part, and still find none. I mean if it's a huge error then I will delete the chapter and re-write it so it makes sense, but a very small detail and I'll leave it be.***

 ***Also I have A LOT going on this weekend. Normally my mother in law has my 2 boys over the weekend, but her mother Is currently in the E.R not knowing what's wrong, so I have the boys this weekend. Also even though I have Sat. off from work, I'm throwing a HUGE tag sale, AND going to try to transport and put together a big play scape in the back yard I recently bought for them. I'm putting up this chapter tonight, and I'm not positive when I'll be able to update this particular story, but it won't be like months. Lol. It will be like a week TOPS!***

 ***I'm also adding this same disclaimer for everyone following my other story. Some of the chapters were already written, so I'm just going to post it and let people catch up over the week.***

 ***Thank-you for everyone's support, and reviews are awesome! Don't need to wright one, just makes me feel good. Lol***

Mathis knew he couldn't trust Toby. Although they were ancient creatures and they both did their fair share of killings, he did a little memory download of his own. First he was going to focus on the relationship of the brothers, then the relationship Sam had with his father. Whoever had the strongest bond was going to do exactly as they were told in order to keep Sam safe.

By the time he was done downloading most of John's thoughts about his boys, he already knew who had the strongest bond. It was certain that John loved both his sons and would do anything for them, but downloading what John knew of the relationship of Sam and Dean, he knew it was Dean he had to go through. He realized that John had made Dean Sam's 'protector' from a very early age, and that was his main job. Protect Sam.

He could tell the moment Toby started downloading Dean's memories that he was changing. At first it was subtle. Making sure Mathis didn't jostle Sam too hard as they were making their way to the car when they first took him. Then it turned into him not even letting him touch the kid.

The last person Toby kidnapped he tied up, threw in his trunk, drove to the motel, beat the shit out of, killed the person, and collected the ransom. He made the job look easy. That's why Mathis wanted him as a partner to begin with. He was ruthless. But this time he didn't want anything to do with Sam being the slightest bit hurt, and that's when the red flags went up. He needed to trust Toby with going through with this plan. Of course Toby could have changed into a different skin and got his old habits and old killer instincts back, but Toby refused to change. Another red flag.

Mathis waited a while, hiding in his car in the dark not too far down the road to see if he could trust his partner. But once he saw him start to load a car, and finally rush with a limp Sam, he knew now what he had to do.

Mathis couldn't even touch silver without getting ill. He knew the shot to Toby would make it so he was slowed down, and once Sam was secured he would come back and finish the job, then call the Winchester's, well call Dean, and get the ball rolling.

Mathis looked down at the huge lanky bundle in his arms. He was just walking away from the crash site now with a knocked out Sam. One memory he did download and thought was funny was when John actually discovered that Sam was in fact the tallest Winchester. He wasn't the strongest or best fighter, but he was only 17, and taller than his father and older brother, with more growing to do. Right now he was sure Sam was done growing, and if he was allowed to live he could gain some muscle mass and be a bad ass hunter. Too bad he wasn't going to let him live. Once he called Dean and got him and his father to retrieve the stone, he was going to cut Sam's throat right over the dam thing in front of everyone. Then he would be able to pick it up and use its full powers. Until then, he was now going to do things his way.

Sam was passed out on drugs, and didn't seem hurt in the car crash, but he had to act fast. According to John the kid wasn't stupid.

Mathis ran to the car that was waiting for him. The trunk was already open and everything was prepared.

First he laid Sam down on the ground on his stomach. He took a long length of chain out of the back and started tying his wrists together. He then sat Sam up in a seated position, and wrapped the chain around his torso, and worked the rest of the length of the chain down his midsection, around his thighs, around his calves, and ended tightly at his ankles. He took a step back and looked at Sam. Oh yeah, the kid wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Lastly he put a bandana in Sam's mouth, and tied another one tightly behind his head. He was thinking of tying another one on his eyes, but since he was still John he knew he didn't have to. It's not like he was in hiding.

He knew as if he saw any signs of Dean or John before he was ready, he would end Sam right then and there, and just find another victim and another over protective family member to harass, and John and Dean knew the same. If they came to Sam's rescue and there was just one slip up, he was dead. But oh god it was nice messing with these guys.

He decided to have a little more fun. He took a picture of Sam in his state of being chained and knocked out.

He scrolled through Sam's phone, and looked for 'Dean.'

A smile came across his face as he opened up the text messages, and attached the photo, with the headline of 'Expect a call from me at noon tomorrow, and the real fun begins.'

After that he pressed the send button, and almost became giddy with excitement. Even though he didn't download a lot of John's memories, he knew enough that this was going to ENRAGE both Dean and John into hysterics. He couldn't wait to call them and hear their enraged voices over the phone. He knew they were going to make threats, but right now, he held all the cards. And no amount of threats over the phone was going to stop him from doing exactly what he wanted.

Mathis tugged at Sam and not to kindly threw him into the trunk of the car, closed the lid, and drove away to his hiding spot.

~*SPN*~

After John arrived at the car wreck they were able to extract Toby, and get him into John's truck. Even though he was currently knocked out, and bleeding from a gash on his head and what they assumed was a gunshot wound, they still handcuffed his hands in the back, as well as tied his ankles.

Right now this was their only link to where Sam was. And they weren't taking any chances.

At the motel they were currently staying at they decided to chain him to the hard wooden chair. The chain links were laced with silver bits so it was keeping him somewhat weakened. The second they were done John and Dean looked at him, and Dean shuddered.

"It's weird looking at him like that. I mean it was weird enough actually killing the shifter in St, Louis, but this one is just….sitting there!"

"Trust me I know. Once he wakes up, we'll get information out of him, and see what the hell was going on."

"Yeah this doesn't make sense. It's obvious he was in a car crash and that I get, but dad that is a bullet wound. Why would someone find him wounded and then shoot him? You think the other shifter did this? And why?"

John sighed.

"I have no clue. Let's get the bullet out, see if it's normal or silver, and wait until he wakes up. If it's pure silver he may never wake up and just slowly die, but if it's a regular bullet then he will just slowly heal. The silver laced chains will come in handy."

John walked away to sit at the computer so he could try and locate anything on what's going on, when he heard a buzzing.

John looked at his phone ad shrugged.

"Not mine."

Dean pulled his phone out of his pocket and realized it was a text from Sam. He opened it and instantly went pale.

"Dean was is it?"

John could tell by the tightness in Dean's jaw that this wasn't good.

Dean showed the text and pic to his dad. And there was Sam, tightly bond in chains.

John didn't get to say anything as Dean suddenly threw the phone across the room and it landed on the motel carpet. Dean got up and started pacing like a mad man, sputtering swear words every chance he could. At one point even john got up and hit the wall as hard as he could. Dean looked over at the shifter, the shifter still wearing HIS face. The shifter that dare take his brother and make him go through the agony of someone looking like your brother who was supposed to protect you hurt you…AGAIN!

Different shifter, same story.

He quickly walked over to him and hit him as hard as he could, sending the shifter and the chair flying to the side.

John had to rush over and stop Dean from killing him.

"Dean stop! He's our only link to Sam! If you kill him we may never find him!"

At the realization that this guy could get him to his injured baby brother he relaxed. He sat down on the bed with his chin resting on his fists as John picked up the shifter and the chair. He next turned to Dean.

"Watch him. Once he starts to wake up, we can get some information out of him. Until then cool it!"

John went back over and sat at the computer, while Dean looked upon the creature wearing his face. The creature the maybe hurt his little brother. The creature who was going to die at his hands once this thing was over.

~*SPN*~

The last thing Toby remembers was Mathis, and him taking off with a probably injured Sam. The kid was wrapped ok in the backseat, but he didn't know if the crash affected him at all, and he wasn't able to check.

His head was killing him and he was trying to open his eyes.

He knew he had to try and get to Sam before Mathis made his plan into motion.

Toby tried to become aware of his surroundings. It didn't feel like a leather car seat, it felt like a wooden chair.

He could tell already his body was healing, which had meant Mathis didn't shoot him with a silver bullet. Getting shot with a regular bullet wouldn't kill him, just slow him down.

He tried to open his eyes, but adjusting to the light was hard. He knew he hit his head, although he didn't feel like he had a concussion. Or at least a bad one anyway.

Next he tried to bring a hand up to the gash on his forehead, just to realize he was stuck. Finally opening his eyes he saw his hand, and his line of sight moved up to his wrist which was firmly tied down to the arm on a chair by a thick chain of all things. And the dam thing burnt.

He craned his neck and saw his other wrist and also his ankles were fastened in the same manner. Freaking chained down.

 _'_ _Oh god, Mathis took both of us and is doing god knows what to Sam.'_

The thought of Mathis hurting Sam made him more aware, and to his surprise he started to feel the gash on his head heal faster. That's a new but useful power. He's never been driven to the point of having to heal himself so quickly, but apparently adrenaline and an endangered little brother made his body react to its surroundings, and is making him heal faster. He can also feel himself become angrier AND stronger actually. Being a supernatural creature he was already strong, but now high on adrenaline and in this particular meat suit, he felt unstoppable.

Toby now was fully awake and struggling against the tight chains. It was useless. He didn't even realize the other two people in the motel room until he heard a familiar voice. His own.

"So. Look who decided to join the party."


	6. Chapter 6

***First of all I want to say I am sorry for not updating on my 2 stories. The past week / week and a half have been super stressful. I have been having horrible anxiety attacks for some reason. On the upside I found out why I am so sick all the time. I am super iron deficient. My iron is at a 9, so now I'm working with my doctor, and once it gets higher I will have more energy. Even while writing this chapter I'm having a huge panic attack. I was hoping that writing would relax me, but it didn't. So please let me know if there are any major mistakes/if something doesn't make sense at all and I will fix it after work.***

 ***Again I have no beta, so be kind. Thank-you.***

 ***Thank-you to everyone commenting, and putting me on alerts. It does make me feel better. (:**

Toby stopped struggling for a second and looked up. He saw his own image walking towards him, wearing a tight black shirt and jeans, where he himself was wearing a tight grey shirt and jeans.

He looked behind Dean and noticed John getting up and start walking towards him as well. He needed to warn them, tell them everything. He just hoped they would listen to him.

"Guys please listen to me. You have every right to be pissed off and want to kill me, but we need to get to Sammy…."

Before he could finish Dean punched him hard in the jaw. When he got his Barings he stared into a familiar pair of eyes. Except these were pissed the fuck off eyes with the most serious expression on his face.

"Just because you stole my face doesn't mean you get to call him that. Only I can call him that."

Dean stepped back and stood next to his father. Both looked pissed to hell.

"Now. You are going to tell me where my brother is."

Toby spit out the blood from the now cut lip. Even though he is slowly healing, he was still a bit concussed from the accident. But one thing he does remember, was Mathis walking away with Sam. He took a couple calming breaths. And looked between John and Dean.

"Look. This whole thing wasn't even my idea. It was supposed to be simple. My partner who is currently wearing John's face, his name is Mathis. He came to me and said he needed my help."

"Needed your help with what? What was the plan here?" John's voice was all authority. Toby was going to spill his guts.

"There's this amulet. Mathis showed a picture of it to me. Said he needed it. The only problem was anything supernatural couldn't touch it. Not until it was covered in human blood. Then the creature that has the amulet has the power. He then told me about you guys. I mean I've heard of you. The famous Winchester hunters driving around in that awesome car, and killing every supernatural being you could get your hands on. He wanted you guys to get the amulet for him, so he could brag that he made you guys his bitches. I told him you guys were almost unstoppable, and killed everything in your path and I wasn't ready to die just yet. But then he told me something. He said you guys had one weakness, and that was each other. But not only that, but it was Sam."

At the mention of Sam's name both Dean and John stood up straighter. They were both very intrigued by the story, and honestly hoping this was relevant in getting to find Sam. Toby continued.

"He said Sam was strong, but since he was the less experienced and youngest he would be easiest to take down. Then once we had him, we were going to force you guys to steal the amulet from the stupid museum, and offer a trade. Sam for the amulet."

Toby stopped talking and started taking deep breaths in. He was happy they were listening, but he knew Dean, and he knew what he was going to say next was going to be unbelievable, but he had to try.

"He then became John, and I became…well you."

Toby looked Dean right in the eyes. He wanted Dean to really hear him.

"Dude, I don't know what happened. I mean before I became you, I killed people and I enjoyed it. I admit now. But the second I became you and started downloading your memories, something changed. The more memories and thoughts I was digging up, the more I wanted nothing to do with this. But I wasn't there yet. And Mathis was still evil as hell. He wasn't downloading enough of John's memories. And he was going to do the plan with, or without me. I figured at least with me there….I could protect Sam from him."

Toby closed his eyes and looked down. Suddenly a million thoughts and memories started flooding his head. Memories of carrying Sam from the fire when the demon first attacked, and nearly every time after that moment Dean was feeling like he was letting Sam down if got hurt on a hunt. He was getting a migraine and a horrible deep pain in his chest. He was having a major anxiety attack. Suddenly 22 years of Dean's protective moments came flooding into his brain. It was a lot to process, and right now he let Sam down, and he's in the hands of a mad man! Toby's eyes flew open. He had to get to the point now!

"Mathis left the motel. I told him I would watch Sam! But instead I was going to run. I was going to hide him! But Mathis knew. He ran me off the road…and kidnapped Sam. We were drugging him, that's all I swear! I wouldn't let that monster hurt him! The last thing I remember is Mathis shooting me in the chest, and walking away with a drugged up Sam in his arms. I don't know if Sam was hurt in the accident, and I don't know where they are right now! He could have taken him anywhere. But he will continue to wear John's face, and continue to drug him so he will just be out of it. I don't think he'll hurt him unless…Unless Sam figures out he isn't really John and tries to fight back. But honestly, I think he was going to use Sam's blood as the sacrifice on the amulet…..We HAVE to find him."

Dean listened to each and every word, listening to the story in his own voice. He knew THAT voice. That was the voice of a scared and desperate person. And when the shifter locked on with his eyes, he frowned a little. He listened as well as watched the shifter. He watched every expression, and saw the desperate nature behind those eyes. Those eyes that would widen whenever he became concerned, the eyes that would kill you with one look if you messed with his family. Messed with Sam. He saw his own eyes coming from the shifter start to actually water while telling his story. He saw this creature that stole his face becoming more and more like him every second. He wasn't sure if it was all an act. A way to betray them. Yet something deep deep deep deep down inside of him was saying this wasn't an act. This was the real deal. The shifter was spilling his guts. Not because he was afraid for his own life, but because he was afraid for Sam's life.

He still had his eyes locked on this monster. Dean studied his face, it was a look of pure concern and worry. He's worn it many times in his life. He also saw the way the monster would clench his hands into fists when talking about Mathis.

Dean slowly walked up to Toby, and looked down at him.

"Did you download the memory of the shifter in St. Louis?"

Toby's expression softened.

"Yes."

"What makes you any different from him? Why did he come so close to killing Sam, when you were trying to save him?"

"If I had to guess. I would say it was because he didn't remember enough. He blocked out all the good and concentrated on the bad to use against you. For some reason when I became you, the bad, the good, and the protective memories came flooding in. The more I was you, the more that came. And I couldn't help it."

"And you're trying to tell me, that that's never happened before being anyone else?"

"Honestly? No. And Mathis saw that."

Dean didn't want to believe him. He wanted to kill him. But for some reason his instincts were actually telling him to trust this monster. This monster that has killed god knows how many people in the past.

"Dean."

John called his son. Dean turned and walked towards him. They left the motel, standing just outside. Keeping their voices low.

"I know what you're thinking, but we can't trust him. He may act like you, but he's a shifter. He's a monster. A thing we kill. A thing we will kill once we get Sam back."

"Don't you think I know that? I can't and won't let him get away for what he did to Sam. Trust me when I say when Sam is safe, I'm killing them both. But for now…I believe him. I actually believe he wants to help find Sam. And right now that's all that matters."

Dean walked back into the motel room. John has left the boys in pursuit of the demon and they have worked several cases without his help. Dean was always in time to save Sam, and this time would be no different. He wasn't going to let his dad lead this case. This was another shifter that was hurting his brother. He was going to do things his way, and go with HIS gut. Dean bent down and looked at the shifter again.

"Is it possible for us to do this without wearing my face? Cause that's kinda creepy."

Toby knew what that meant. It was his 'dry humor.' He also knew Dean was being serious. He did not like someone else being him.

"I don't think I'll care if Sam lives or dies if I'm not you. Being you will actually help."

"I'm saying this once. You betray me or my family in any way, and I mean ANY, and you're getting a silver bullet to the head in less than a second. You're already scheduled for an ass kicking for taking Sam, but that I'm saving for later. Now. How do we find my little brother?"


	7. Chapter 7

Mathis drove a tied up Sam to the nearest run down motel. He had no problem getting an out of the way room in the back of the place for "privacy." Once he checked in he pulled the car around to the front of the room. Once he was certain there were no nosey eyes watching him, he opened the trunk to reveal a still passed out Sam. Mathis grinned in delight, before grabbing him and easily carrying him into the motel room.

Once Sam was laid out on the second bed, Mathis took a seat at the small table. He didn't need Toby to carry out his plans. He could handle this whole thing by himself. It would have been easier with someone wearing Dean's face around since Sam trusted him with his life and then some, but he could handle Sam just fine. Actually there was no reason to even tie the kid up. Looking back into John's memories, he knew he could easily take Sam down if the kid ever found out the truth.

Mathis decided to untie Sam, but first thing's first. Time to dispose of Toby's body.

~*SPN*~

Mathis took the car all the way to where he knew he had left his so called partner. The asshole gained too much of not just Dean's memories, but also his personality. He honestly didn't think he would go as far as to deviate from the plan and try to make a run for it, but fortunately he was ready.

He knew the regular bullet would just slow him down. From the position Toby was positioned in the car it was hard to get to put a bullet right in the heart, so he had to make due. But this time he was ready.

Mathis had parked somewhat far away from where he knew he had left the wreckage. He hated touching silver with a fiery passion of a thousand suns, and it's not like he had the time to make a single pure silver bullet to put in his old friend's heart, so his trusty machete just had to do the trick. Hacking him up into a thousand little pieces sounded like an amazing idea right now.

Mathis pulled the machete out from its hiding spot. It was flawless. He had to hurry back before someone found the car.

He was fast as he started for the wreckage site, but almost right away he noticed red and blue flashing lights, as well as uniformed cops surrounding the area.

"Shit."

Mathis ducked behind the closest tree. If they managed to rescue Toby and bring him to the hospital, he could heal and complicate things. If they already took his dead body out of the car and confirmed there was no pulse when they had arrived, then all he had to do was sneak into the morgue and finish the job. Just in case. But carrying any kind of weapon into a hospital was going to raise red flags and complicate things. So right now he had to play it cool and see if he could hear anything of what they were saying.

After five minutes of not hearing a thing he decided to play 'concerned and innocent parent.' John has done it many times before in various situations, so he knew he could handle this.

He put down the machete and put on a concerned face. He came staggering out of the woods, and towards the cops who took notice right away. One of the cops walked up to him.

"Can I help you sir?"

"I was looking for my son. We had a fight and he went out drinking! This is his car! Is he alright? Did he get hurt? Where is he?"

Mathis tried to look behind the cop for a body bag or even a body still in the car, but could see nothing. The cop turned sympathetic.

"Sir I'm sorry. We got a call from a patron saying this car was here, but when we got here we saw no body was actually in the car. I have several uniformed officers searching the woods right now for a John Doe who could be hurt, confused and wandering. But if you give me a description and the name of your son it might go by quicker."

"So, no one was here when you got here?"

"That's correct sir."

' _Son of a bitch!'_

Shifter John looked behind the officer again, and then right at him.

"I'm sorry there was some sort of a mistake. This car only looks like my son's car. I was over-reacting. I hope you find the poor guy soon. My son is probably waiting for me at home."

The officer nodded his head, and turned to walk away. Shifter John did the same, but with a seriously pissed off look on his face. He picked up the machete and stomped back to his truck. Once he got in he started punching the interior and swearing up a storm. Toby was out there somewhere _healing,_ which meant one of two things. One either he will shed his skin and go underground for some time until he is fully healed, or he will heal in Dean's skin and go running to the Winchester's for help. Either way Toby was missing. And if he was still in Dean's skin he might try and save Sam.

Mathis had to act quickly now. He didn't have time. He pulled out his cell phone and decided to call Dean tonight. The sooner he could get his hands on the amulet and spill Sam's blood on it the better.

Pulling out Sam's cell phone he looked up Dean's number quickly, and hit dial.

~*SPN*~

John, Dean, and Toby were sitting in the motel room. The two real Winchester's still didn't trust the shifter one-hundred percent, so his hands were to stay handcuffed in the front, and he was to be around both of them at all times.

Toby did his best to tell them everything he knew. From Mathis's past, to the amulet, to the lore, and was even let in on the plan on how to save Sam, much to Dean's dismay.

John was sitting at the table looking up more of the lore on Sam's laptop, when he couldn't help but notice excessive movement to his side. He stopped what he was doing to see both Dean and shifter Dean pacing the room, with the same pensive expression, and same body language, passing each other. Only except shifter Dean had his hands cuffed and was wearing a different colored shirt.

 _'_ _Oh god this is what it would be like if Dean was a twin._ '

John shook that thought out of his head and looked at the two boys. He knew what was on both their minds by their expression. They were coming up with a plan, and most likely it was the same exact plan.

"Boys."

The same pair of hazel eyes looked his direction.

"Will you two stop pacing? Seeing two of you is making me motion sick."

Dean sat down at the other chair opposite his bed while shifter Dean sat on the bed closest to the door. Both boys looked stressed out and completely overwhelmed. John could handle one worried Dean, but two? Even if the shifter wasn't really Dean, he was sure acting like it. But right now everyone's main focus was Sam.

Suddenly Dean's phone started ringing and it brought everyone's attention to it. He looked at the caller I.D, and saw it said 'Sam.'

"Dean who is it?"

"It's Sam's cell. I'm putting him on speaker and YOU don't make a sound!"

Dean pointed at shifter Dean who raised his cuffed hands like he was innocent. Then without a second thought, Dean answered the phone and immediately put it on speaker. John got up and stood on the opposite side of the phone to hear it better.

"Sammy?"

Dean was hoping Sam had somehow escaped and was calling for a ride home. His dreams were dashed when he heard a familiar voice at the end of the line. His dad's voice.

 _"_ _Not quite_."

Dean swallowed hard. This asshole still had Sam.

"Where's Sam?"

 _"_ _He's safely tied up at the moment so I wouldn't worry about him. Although he is tied up in my bed so, take it as you will."_

Mathis knew exactly how to piss off Dean without even trying. He wasn't actually going to take Sam in that way, but just planting the seed in Dean's brain was enough to put a smile on his face.

"Listen here you son of a bitch! You better not hurt one hair on that kids head or you're going to regret it! As it is you're on my bad side."

Mathis smiled. He could practically feel Dean's hatred as if he were sitting right next to him.

 _"_ _I'll do as I wish. Actually I changed my mind. My partner and I were going to call you tomorrow, but something's come up and I need you to get me what I want TONIGHT, or precious little Sammy dies."_

Toby was sitting on the bed and fidgeting. He was feeling guilty for making such a mistake like he did. And now Sam was alone in the enemy's hands instead of him being there to make sure no harm came to him.

Dean and John had to play it cool. They couldn't let this guy know that they knew anything. John put a hand on Dean's shoulder to ground him, and heard Dean start speaking again.

"What do you want exactly?"

 _"_ _There's this museum in town, and they have this amulet."_

Both Dean and John looked at the shifter, who in return looked back at them.

 _"_ _I want you and your father to brake in, steal it, and bring it to me. Once I get it, you get Sammy back. Simple as that."_

The three men in the room knew what was really going to happen, but they had to keep their cool for now.

"What does this amulet look like?"

 _"_ _That's the spirit! Hey is John there? I want him to know what I'm going to do to his youngest if he tries to double cross me."_

Dean held the phone close to his father.

"I'm right here. Now I want my son in the same condition as the last time I saw him or else you're dead you hear me!?"

John's voice was all business, and it made both Deans in the room glad that he had the military training he's had, or else this whole thing probably wouldn't work. John knew how to plan and attack and save the innocents. This time it was highly personal, and he was the one grounding them right now."

"Also I want to talk to Sam right now! I want to know he's ok!"

 _"_ _oooo. Afraid I can't do that Johnny boy. Did I mention he's drugged and tied up on my bed? You're not talking to him until I see the amulet."_

John's face turned red. The anger soaring threw him at that moment was horrifying to say the least. Just thinking of his and Mary's baby being violated in that way by a monster made him want to throw up.

"You sick bastard. Sam better not be hurt in ANY way….."

 _"_ _Or else what John? Listen the quicker you get me the amulet, the sooner you get to see Sam. Once you retrieve it send me a picture of it to Sam's phone, and I'll call you. The longer you wait, the more time I get to spend with Sam. Now, the amulet is an odd shape, bright red, and will fit in the palm of your hand. You can't miss it. Better hurry up boys. Time's wasting."_

With that Mathis hung up the phone. He knew the more he threatened Sam the more results he was going to get. With a bright smile, he started up the truck, and headed towards the motel where Sam was still tied up on the bed. It was time for him to untie his hostage, and play father figure. He hoped manipulated the boy was easy, or else he would have to put him in the chains. But from what Mathis saw in John's memories, Sam trusted him enough to stay where he was at if told, especially if he was just coming off of the drugs and if he did get hurt in the accident. It would be easier for his partner wearing Dean's face to 'boss Sam to stay put,' but for now he was going to make due, and gain Sam's trust. This was going to be fun.

~*SPN*~

Once the phone hung up Dean threw it on the table and put his face in his hands. John on the other hand punched a nice big hole in the wall, curtesy of the picture of Sam being violated by the shifter while still wearing John's face. There's no way Sam could look at his real father the same way if something like that happened.

Dean was exhausted and frustrated. He couldn't stop thinking about the shifter in St. Loius. That thing wore his face and beat the crap out of Sam, but he never violated him that night. Shit Sam still had visible bruises from that fight!

Dean got up out of the chair and loomed over Toby, who was currently looking like he was going to start crying. He was nervous and knew Dean's wrath.

Without holding back Dean punched Toby as hard as he could in the face, making Toby fall to the floor with a grunt.

"I'm getting my brother back. You are going to help me. And if Sam is hurt in ANY way shape or form, you die a slow painful death! Now. Let's come up with a plan fast before that bastard gets his hands on my brother."

Toby could only stare at Dean, and OUCH! That freaking hurt! He moved his jaw around and slowly got up and back onto the bed, while John and Dean sat at the table.

After hearing Mathis threaten Sam like that, Toby knew what he had to do. It wasn't the best plan ever, but he was partially responsible. And if anything actually did happen to Sam while he was wearing Dean's skin, he wouldn't live much longer anyway.

Toby closed his eyes and took a deep breath in, before opening his eyes and looking right at John and Dean.

"Guys, I have an idea."

 ***I want to say congratulations to Jensen Ackles and his wife for announcing today that she was currently pregnant with twins! One boy and one girl! So cute!***


	8. Chapter 8

***Just one more chapter after this! Of course I kind of hate having it at 9 chapters instead of even 10, but lets see where this goes.***

Before entering the museum itself they had to tie up Toby pretty well and keep him in the trunk. Toby said he could help out, but the Winchester men still didn't trust him fully yet, and if they wanted to save Sam this had to be done right the first time by professionals. Toby hated it, saying three heads were better than two, but he ended up in the trunk anyway and that was that.

Braking into the museum was a piece of cake. They have actually broken into several museums, having to look for certain small insignificant artifacts that the museum would just chalk up to vandals wanting to make a quick buck. Who cares since they would collect insurance money for it anyway? But THIS….THIS was a little trickier. The amulet itself was actually guarded by two-night watch officers, was behind a thick layer of glass surrounding it by all sides, and had a special security camera aimed at it. One that was hard to get to in the first place. Of course they brought masks. They didn't want to actually have to wear them, but they had no choice.

The two men didn't realize that that amulet was more than just a fancy piece of glass or a fancy quartz. It was an actual Ruby. If it were to be a diamond they wouldn't have been able to get within one-hundred feet of the thing without getting shot, so they were grateful it was a Ruby. Either way they didn't really care about the stupid stone. Somewhere Sam was in the hands of a perverted monster wearing John's face. That alone made Dean make sure this was going to go down without any problems, and quickly.

The two men put the masks on once they reached the 'Rare Antiquities' room. The rest of the building was easy enough to navigate, but this room was being guarded, which meant extra cameras as well. The night watch men were just regular men doing their job. All they needed was an easy distraction to get them away from the stone and they could do their thing.

John went off in search of the furthest bathroom. Right away he started a massive fire, making sure it was it was to engulf the men's, women's, AND family rest room. He was hoping the whole dam museum didn't actually go up in flames, but that was a risk he was willing to take. It was easy enough, and he made his way out and back in Dean's direction, waiting for the alarms to go off.

Before they knew it alarms were blaring. They could tell it scared the crap out of the two somewhat elderly watchmen who wasn't expecting such a disturbance. The second the two men left the area they were guarding to see what was going on, John and Dean made their move.

With masks and heavy duty gloves on the two men took out the hammer, and attempted to smash the glass. With much surprise and frustration, the dam thing didn't even crack.

Next without warning Dean took out his gun and fired a single round at the thing, which actually ricocheted and almost hit John, who was not amused. He clipped Dean on the side of his head.

"Dam it what were you thinking?!"

"I was thinking we need to get to this stupid thing and fast. What the hell is this glass made out of anyway lead?"

"Well don't fire at it again."

John tried the simple solution of trying to pick the lock on the case, but it was an industrial lock, and no lock pick set he could think off would work in this situation.

"Dam it dad we need to hurry! Those guys will be back once the fires are put out then what? We can't kill innocent watch men doing their jobs."

"Ok. I'll go see if the fires are put out, then I'll simply knock them out and tie them up in the closet. This is going to be more difficult than I thought. You keep trying to break the glass."

With that John was gone. Dean knew there was an even more limited amount of time before the fire department showed up along with some cops. He tried everything that was in his duffel, but nothing was working.

Suddenly he heard a slight noise to his left and turned quickly, aiming his gun at… well at himself.

"How the hell did you escape?"

It was Toby. He looked worse for wear and had his hands up in the air.

"Can't break the glass right? I can help."

Dean let Toby come close to the display. He saw him examine the whole thing while still having his gun aimed at him.

"It's impossible. If I can't break the dam thing what makes you think you can do it?"

Much to Dean's surprise Toby closed his eyes. It looked like he was meditating. Suddenly Toby's arm struck out. Once his arm hit the glass, the whole dam thing shattered. Dean had to take a step back, and was flabbergasted at what just happened. Then an alarm started blaring.

"How the hell did you do that? That thing was impossible to break!"

"I remembered something while tied up in the trunk. This thing can protect itself if a human threat is near. True I can't really touch it unless it has human blood on it, but it also won't let a human steal it without putting up a fight. It's calling to me, but you need to pick the dam thing up. So now that we have it we need to hurry and get to Sam."

Dean carefully picked up the amulet, wrapped it in cloth and put it in his bag. He couldn't argue with results, but he sure as hell was going to question them. Once they were out of the way of the main security camera, Dean was antsy as he walked briskly beside Toby, and took off his mask. He knew John would take care of the security guards, then meet them at the impala once he discovered the amulet was taken care of.

"How the hell did you get out of the trunk? I tied those knots themselves AND they were laced with silver."

Toby quickly lifted his arm to reveal his wrist that was bruised and bloodied.

"It wasn't easy. But being you I managed to snake out of them. I wasn't planning on escaping, but once I remembered that you two couldn't get to the dam thing I knew I had to escape."

It was a very 'Dean' thing to do. Although he would now have to upgrade his knot tying skills.

"By the way dude, my face is now on that security camera back there. They might start looking for us…I mean me."

Without stopping Toby continued.

"My face will be blurred on the cameras. I'm a powerful shifter, so they will see my body, but my face will be blurry. Don't worry about it."

Dean had to stop in his tracks.

"Hey! It's MY body and MY face! It's just on loan to you until I kill you."

Toby stopped and looked back with a grin on his face.

"I know."

That was the only thing Toby said before making it outside.

Dean ran to catch up with, and not two seconds later John came running out, tearing his mask off in the process.

"Hurry get in the car! The fire's put out but it doesn't mean people won't show up." John said in an out of breath hurry.

Just then they could hear sirens in the distance. John got in the driver's side, Dean got in the front, and Toby jumped in the back seat. The three men took off in a flash. They had a job to finish.

~*SPN*~

Once Mathis returned to the motel he saw Sam was still out for the count. A smile spread across his face.

 _'_ _Dam this kid is a lightweight_.'

Mathis went to undoing the chains that held Sam in place, and taking out the gag. Once he was done he threw them in the closet, and walked back over to the bed. Sam looked peaceful.

Mathis made sure he was still breathing, and his heart beat was strong.

Next he ran his fingers through the kid's hair, searching to see if there was any damage due to the impromptu car crash. He did notice the bruise and cut that was still apparent on his head from when they took him in the first place. Other than that he could see nothing was bleeding, and nothing was broken. Well nothing was bleeding yet.

He sat at the table once again, waiting for a phone call. And waiting to see if his captive would wake up. In the meantime, time to download some memories.

~*SPN*~

It was only 30 minutes later that Mathis heard a moan coming from Sam. He turned his head and saw Sam start to stir. He was up and to Sam's side with a bottle of water, just as Sam was opening his eyes. They were still a bit glassy and unfocused. Those drugs must have done a dam number on him.

But now Mathis had no need to give Sam any drugs. If he could earn his trust, this will go easier.

"Dad?"

Sam's voice was but a whisper, but Mathis was playing the 'caring father card' now after all. Time for the act.

He put on a smile.

"It's good to see you awake son. You dam near gave me a heart attack."

Sam blinked. Everything was fuzzy and he felt disconnected from his body. He knew his dad was by his side, so whatever had happened couldn't have been too bad. As of a matter of fact what the hell did happen?

Sam slowly started to sit up, with his 'dad's' help of course. He looked around the room and noticed it was in complete darkness.

"Dad, what happened? Why do I feel so weird?"

"What's the last thing you remember?"

Sam looked away and actually had to think. He closed his eyes and put his hand to his head.

"Uuuhhhh a shifter. We were looking up information on a shifter that was killing people. Then we were running in the woods…that's all I remember….ow!"

Sam accidently grazed his hand over the wound on his head. He stared at Mathis.

"Dad what's going on? Why can't I remember anything and….."

Sam took a quick look around the motel room.

"Where's Dean? Is he ok? Why can't I remember what happened…."

Mathis held up his hand to cut Sam off.

"What a minute son one question at a time. We were chasing the shifter, but the dam thing got ahold of you. Knocked you out, drugged you and tried to take you somewhere, but me and Dean killed the dam thing and got you to safety. You have a minor concussion and are just coming down from the drugs. Dean went to the nearest hospital, which seems to be in the next state by the amount of time it's taking him, so he can re-stock on supplies and grab something for your head there."

Sam took in all the information. It made sense to him. This wouldn't be the first time Dean went on a hospital restock run while John kept watch over a sick Sam. Usually it was the other way around, but who was Sam to argue.

Mathis patted Sam's leg and started walking towards the small table.

"You hungry Sam?"

"No. Maybe I'll eat something later."

"Ok. Relax then, or watch some t.v."

Sam reached over and grabbed the remote off the nightstand. Watching t.v with this headache probably wasn't the best idea, but he wanted to try and stay awake until Dean came back. As much comfort as his dad gave him, Dean always made him feel better. Whether it was the fact that Dean could read Sam like a card and never needed to ask 'what's wrong' in order to actually know what's wrong, or if it was just the sheer fact that Dean practically raised him. Either way he would feel a lot better once he got to see Dean again.

~*SPN*~

Mathis sat and watched Sam for a little bit. He was catching onto John's memories, and the more he remembered the more fun he wanted to have.

Taking something out of his pack he moved in front of the t.v screen, and saw Sam was still awake but relaxing. Sam straightened somewhat and looked at his father.

"Dad what's up?"

"Remember when you were younger and I taught you and your brother how to scam with card games? Those were good times."

Mathis held out the card deck.

"Let's see if you can beat your old man."

It was about an hour later where Mathis and Sam were playing cards. They were both relaxed, and actually having a pretty good time. Sam was kicking his ass, and if they were playing for money, Mathis would have to rob a small bank to pay for his dept. _'_ _John certainly taught these boys well.'_ Getting lost in John's good memories would be a bad thing. If he started tapping into John's feelings, he could turn out like Toby. He was contemplating on knocking Sam out and changing his skin, when his phone started beeping. He pulled it out and it was a text message from 'Dean.' He opened it up and saw a picture of the amulet. It was beautiful. He could practically feel it's power already. He grinned and slipped the phone back into his pocket.

"Was that Dean?"

Mathis looked up at Sam. He could see concern in the younger man's eyes.

"Yeah it is. I'm going to talk to him outside I'll be right back."

"Can I talk to him?"

"Let me see what he has to say then maybe."

Mathis shot Sam a comforting smile, and Sam visibly relaxed.

He went outside with the cell phone, and dialed Dean's number. He kept checking back to the motel room to make sure Sam didn't follow him outside. He's always been a stubborn kid and he wouldn't be surprised if he did follow him outside. But there was no sight of Sam as Dean picked up the phone.

"It's Dean."

"Hey nice job with the amulet. Now that we have it we should meet somewhere deserted to do out exchange. There's an abandoned factory not 10 miles from where your motel room is at. I'll meet you guys there."

"It's a plan. I want to talk to Sam."

Mathis looked back at the motel room and smirked.

"Sam's fine. Me and him are having a blast. I'm taking care of the kid Dean really I am. Why don't you believe me?"

"I don't trust you within an inch of my life. If you hurt Sam you're going to pay dearly. Tap into my dad's memories and see what happens to things that hurt my little brother."

"Big talk for someone who hesitated to shoot a Strega when it was killing his _little brother._ Are you going to hesitate like that me also?"

Yup. Mathis tapped into John's memories, and he knew for a fact that that particular memory had to be painful for Dean to remember. He didn't get a response, and instead decided to end this fast.

"Meet me at that factory, and you can see Sammy again."

Mathis slammed the phone shut and started his walk back to the motel room where he left Sam. Once he saw him his expression softened.

"Where's Dean?"

"Your brother got a flat tire and had no service. We are going to go pick him up."

Sam shook his head yes and wish he didn't. His head still hurt and he was still dizzy. His hand flew to his temple and he tried to steady himself. He was concentrating on trying not to get sick. He looked back up at his 'father'.

"Something wrong?"

Just then a truck came by at just the right moment. It's head beams flashed in 'John's' face and Sam saw his eyes light up to a white hue. His own eyes widened in surprise and his muttled brain was trying to process if what he saw was real, or something brought on by his head injury and a trick of the light. Either way Sam had to keep his composure.

"No. Nothing's wrong. I just still have a bad headache and all. Plus I'm not feeling to well."

Mathis looked over Sam's features. The boy was pale and it looks like the simple card games has taken Sam's energy.

"Well, the sooner we get to Dean the sooner we can get back so you can relax."

"Actually I was thinking maybe it would be better if I stayed here."

"I'm not letting you stay here alone when you're injured. What if something brakes in while I'm gone? We'll be quick. Come on now."

Sam kept studying his father. There was something horribly off here. Sam's stayed by himself when he's had a concussion a bunch of times. And that was when he was younger. Slowly but surely he felt in his boots where he always kept his silver bladed knife. He was grateful that it was still there. He took it out as Mathis was collecting his stuff from around the motel room, and got himself ready.

Sam stood and started inching himself closer to his 'father.' If it was his father he would certainly get a mad expression, but he knew he would be forgiven over time. If it wasn't his father, then he would have to act accordingly.

The second Sam got to where he was in striking distance, Mathis turned around and grasped Sam's wrist hard making him gasp out in pain. Sam looked him in the eyes, and this time the tell-tale sign of the brief change in eye color wasn't missed, and Mathis wasn't pretending anymore.

"This could have been a lot simpler Sam."

Sam took his right leg and kicked Mathis hard in the stomach. The sudden blow made him release Sam's wrist and he went flying backwards into the wall. He regained his thoughts just to see Sam running towards the door. He got up quickly and tackled Sam hard from the back.

The blow had Sam wanting to throw up, but he knew this shifter was not going to let him leave without a fight. Before the shifter could pin him down properly, Sam tried shifting to his back with the blade in his hand, and managed to get a huge bloodied cut right across the shifter's face.

Mathis wasn't expecting the attack by Sam. This kid is wiry. The silver blade cut his skin and hurt like a bitch. It was time to play dirty.

Sam got to his feet fast and it made him dizzy. Mathis took the second of the opportunity, to use his full body weight and crash right into Sam again, making them both tumble to the ground, Mathis on top of Sam. He straddled Sam's legs and gripped the boy's hair as tight as he could, making Sam make a cry out in pain. He had lost the silver blade when the shifter took him down the second time, and he couldn't see it anywhere near reaching distance.

The fingers pulled at his hair tight, making Sam elicit a slight yelp, and Sam's hands went to the shifter's hands to try and pry them off. Unfortunately, the grip was to tight, and he tried to use every trick in the book he was taught since he was younger to get from under the shifter.

"Stop struggling I taught you those moves."

Sam looked Mathis right in the eyes.

"Dean taught me. You suck at downloading memories."

"Who do you think taught Dean? Speaking of Dean we have to get going."

"Where is he? Where's my dad? I swear if you hurt them…"

"It's not them I would be worrying about."

Without warning Mathis shifted his hand in Sam's hair, and viciously slammed the back his head into the carpet. The pain from the second impact made his see stars. He only passed out for a couple of minutes, but when he was coming to he could feel something tight around his wrists. He tried to move them and felt chain biting into his skin. He went to move his legs and noticed at least those were free. He opened his eyes and he saw the shifter coming towards him. He tried to stand, but just lifting his head made him sick, and he put his aching head back down on the carpet. He couldn't help but close his eyes tight, but once he did he felt something pull at the ropes around his wrists, and felt he was being lifted. Another couple of minutes he opened his eyes and saw the ground moving beneath him, and the back of legs.

' _Crap, he's carrying me over his shoulder.'_

That was the last thought as he was bodily slammed into the backseat of a truck. Trying to take control of the pain he kept doing the breathing techniques taught to his by his family. But soon enough the truck was moving, and he was in so much pain he closed his eyes tight, and blacked out again. This time letting the darkness take over. His last thoughts were of his family, and hoped to god they were ok.


	9. Chapter 9

***I decided to put all my future stories and the synopsis for them on my page. I have a lot of ideas, and this way if you are curious to see what I'll be working on in the near future you can just look and see!***

 ***I will definitely have a 10th chpt! This chapter just got away from me and was becoming to long to finish it here.***

 ***Again thank you to everyone who has reviewed/put me on their alerts!***

Dean couldn't wait to take the picture of the stupid amulet and send it to Mathis. He hated the fact that he still had no idea if his brother was hurt or not, but just the idea of another shifter getting the best of them made him see red. He swore he wasn't ever going to let anything use them like that again, and here he was with Sam in an even more dangerous situation that before, and all because of this stupid rock that was supposed to hold great power. This rock that all he wanted to do with it is chuck it at everyone's head that pissed him off.

That's where Dean was right now. Sitting at the stupid little table in the motel room with John, while Toby was fidgeting on the bed next to them with his hands handcuffed in front of him.

Dean just got off the phone with that bastard Mathis, and he was definitely not in any way shape or form putting his mind at ease. Sure he was the bad guy, but the things he said about Sam were down right unforgivable and he would be the first one to die a slow miserable death by Dean's hands.

Dean kept going over Toby's plan in his head. It was simple enough and should work, but Dean would never put Sam's life at stake for a plan that _might_ work or a plan that _should work_. When it came to matters like this he needed a plan that was one-hundred percent fool proof. Unfortunately, they never have a one-hundred and fool proof anything when it comes to a hunt.

~*SPN*~

The three men were ready to head out to the old factory that Mathis wanted to meet at to make the exchange. Toby seemed to feel the need to warn the Winchester's about a dozen more time that Mathis was more than likely going to try and slit Sam's neck and drip his blood over the amulet. Each and every time he mentioned it Dean felt the need to hit him. He heard him the first ten times, and the picture in his head just gets more and more gruesome.

"…I'm telling you! The guy's going to slit his neck unless we get this plan just right! Let's go over it yet AGAIN just so I know you understand it. "

Toby was in the back of the impala yet again grating on Dean's last nerves. He wasn't an idiot he can follow a simple plan.

John was driving and Dean was in the front seat. Sam's seat to be precise. The front seat stopped being Dean's seat the moment he turned sixteen and got the car for his birthday. Since then John was in the truck, Dean was in his driver's seat, and Sam was right next to him being a pain in the ass.

Toby didn't seem to get the hint as he just kept talking. Dean turned his head and glared into the back seat, making Toby back up a little bit.

"I swear to god you mention anything about Sam getting his throat sliced one more time and you are dead! I will nail you alive in a coffin filled with silver and it will slowly poison you until you die. So keep your pie hole shut!"

Toby knew Dean was violent, especially when it came to Sam, but this was a whole new level of scary, making Toby back up even more until he was right behind John. His hands were handcuffed in back of him right now, but he sure made to move to his new spot fast. He leaned close to John's ear so Dean couldn't hear.

"Sheesh. He always this grumpy?"

"Shut-up or you're going in the trunk."

Toby's eyes went wide at John's statement and he gulped loudly. He scooted himself in between the two men in the back seat and decided it was time to stay quiet. After all they did go through the plan about a hundred times before leaving the motel. Not to mention none of them were amateurs at this sort of thing. But Toby couldn't deny that he was also scared. Scared that because of his actions that Sam was horribly hurt. Scared that Mathis was doing horrible things to Sam that he may never be able to deal with. Scared that the whole plan will fail and Sam will lose his life. Right now if it came down to it, he would die in Sam's place. Toby decided to stay quiet, and sit in the backseat until they all got to the destination.

~*SPN*~

Sam knew he was screwed the second he started waking up. He was confused and his whole head felt like it was on fire. He blinked back a couple of tears and slowly started to remember what had happened. He looked to the front seat of the truck and saw his dad….no not his dad, the shifter pretending to be his dad driving. It was only the back of his head, but he knew it was him.

He tried to keep quiet so he didn't give away that he was awake. He flexed his wrists and when he looked down he noticed thick rope was wrapped around them. John had taught the boys everything he knows about knots and how to escape them, but his foggy, possibly concussed brain couldn't figure out this knot. Not to mention it was almost pitch black in the truck, except for when they drove under the street lights and it would cast and eerie yellow in the truck's interior. The small amount of light alone was enough for him to puke.

Determined, Sam flexed his wrists to try and loosen them, while glancing over to the back of the shifter's head to make sure he was none to wiser to what Sam was doing. He didn't know whether his family was somewhere else hurt or maybe even dead, but he had to get free and try and help them. He was pretty sure if Dean or his dad had died, that somehow he would know. Somehow part of his heart would feel like something was missing and instantly ache until he fell apart. But he didn't have a lot of fear right now. He actually felt like there was hope, if not a small amount of it, and that alone was making his efforts double. But if his family was dead than where was he planning on taking Sam? Why wouldn't he just kill him on the spot? The thought made him relieved as well as frightened. He wanted Sam alive at the moment, which possibly meant that his family was still alive. While worrying about the state of his family, he kept silently trying at the knots that were expertly tied.

Sam made the mistake of rolling his head the wrong the wrong way, added with a pothole the shifter just hit, made him nauseous enough for his last meal to come back up. Without wanting to he leaned over and threw up all over the floor of the backseat of the truck. He knew at this point he was heard and his cover was blown. Very gently he took his bound hands and wiped at his mouth. His stomach felt a little better, but now he didn't have the element of surprise on his side. He closed his eyes and laid his headache riddled brain on the seat cushion.

"So. You are awake back there?" Mathis was waiting for Sam to wake up. He heard a lot about the notorious hunters, and to say he was shocked when he so easily took down the youngest was an understatement. Sure Sam had less experience and less muscle, but this was John's boy and he was nothing but prepared for everything. If he would have known it would be as easy as a thick tree branch to take him down then he would have just done this alone rather than rely on that dam traitor. Speaking of which where the hell was he? Mathis knew he had to kill Toby, but he had to find him first. And he could have healed enough to shed by now and be at least one state over. Either way once he got Sam's blood all over the amulet, he was going to kill his so called partner after the Winchester's. Unfortunately, he had a problem all his own. He downloaded emotions that were linked to some memories. Memories of when Sam was born, when Sam was growing up, even when Sam went to Stanford he never felt so proud yet so scared. Proud that his and Mary's baby found light at the end of the tunnel and went for it. Scared that he would be going it alone. He half expected Dean to go with Sam, but surprisingly he didn't. Dean stayed with John and they would hunt every creature that came their way. John even sending Dean on separate hunts as a way to rid the world of as much supernatural as possible so that Sam could stay safe while away from them. He would never tell Sam or Dean this, but the emotions after every kill, knowing that there was one less monster to hurt his youngest made him sad as well as happy. He had a stronger bond with Sam than originally expected. But unlike Toby, Mathis kept his wits about him. He knew exactly what he had to do and how to do it. Now he was about to get everything he's ever wanted and all it took was two obsessed hunters not watching the person closest to them, and their weakness being Sam. Because the fact is that they would do anything to get him away from the bad guy, and Mathis would certainly use that to his advantage.

Not hearing a reply from the backseat he quirked an eyebrow and peeked behind him. He saw Sam's eyes were closed, but worse yet he wasn't breathing! The kid's chest wasn't going up and down! He needed Sam alive for this to work.

Mathis pulled his truck over to the side of the road and turned off the ignition. No way Sam stopped breathing just because of a little throw up? What the hell is the deal with this kid?

Not stopping to try and download memories of a sick Sam and what it did to him, Mathis quickly climbed out of the truck and made his way to the back. He opened up the door his head was closest to and listened for breathing. He could tell he was still warm. Next he checked for a pulse. It was a strong heart pulse, so what's up with this kid? He got his head over Sam's body to investigate his chest when there was violent blow to his head. It sent him flying backwards making him land on his ass outside of the truck. He quickly looked back towards Sam and saw him sitting up and expertly move his long body from the backseat to the front seat. How the hell did he do that? It looked dam near impossible considering Sam's long legs. The thought immediately left his head upon realizing what the hell was going on. The keys were still in the ignition, the cell phone was right there on the dash, his weapons were in the front seat. CRAP!

Mathis jumped up and with feral speed slammed his body into the driver's door of the truck, where Sam currently resided in. He saw Sam flinch, but other than that was intent on his purpose. He saw the kid try and start up the truck, but it was stalling. Mathis had the truck for a long time and knew how to properly get the engine to turn over. It would difficult for anyone else to get it right away. That gave him a few more minutes to act. Quickly he picked up a rather large rock, and with all his strength smashed it into the driver's side window. It made an impressive spider web design and he heard Sam yell from his seat. One more blow to the window and it shattered.

~*SPN*~

Sam didn't know if his charade would work. He didn't think the shifter cared enough if he was living or dead, but he knew the thing heard him throw up, and knew he was at least awake. He was thrilled when the truck came to a stop. He knew what he had to do and he only had a short amount of time to do it in. Once he felt the shifter's body heat against his own, he struck out, and he did it hard. Hard enough to put his plan into motion. He had to get out of there first off. He climbed to the front seat and tried at turning the key. What the hell was he doing wrong? He was about to nix that idea when a rock came in contact with the driver's window and scared the shit out of him. He was hoping to have driven off by this point! Dam ignition!

Sam then saw his cell phone laying on the dashboard. He grabbed for it and started dialing Dean's number when the whole window came shattering down on him! It wasn't until then that he saw the bag full of weapons. He was sure there wasn't any silver, but if he saw it sooner he could have grabbed a large knife. To late now. He knew by experience that this glass was thick and it should have taken a lot more time than it did for it to shatter like that. He screamed as the tiny glass shards rained down upon him. The phone forgotten he reached for the weapons bag, but a strong hand wrapped itself in his hair, yanking him back towards the broken window. He could feel the shifter's breath on his face as he spoke.

"That was a really stupid thing to do. Your family is going to get you back in pieces."

Sam could smile in his situation wasn't so dire. His family was alive! There was hope after all!

His small glimpse at happiness was short lived when he felt the hand in his hair tighten and yank as his whole body was forcefully pulled from the shattered window. He felt small pieces of glass still hooked onto the window frame claw at his back as he was torn out the window and brutally thrown to the cement ground. He got the wind knocked out of him when he landed. He knew he couldn't close his eyes. The shifter will be pissed off and he needed to make a run for it. Sam tried to turn to he can get his feet underneath him, but a sudden weight on his legs made his cry out in pain. Then his dad's face was right up to his. He tried to push the monster away with his bound hands, but he was weaker than the furious creature currently was. Knowing he was defeated at that moment, Sam started breathing through the pain. With a defiant glare up to the shifter, he spoke his peace.

"My family will kill you."

Mathis looked down at Sam. This little punk tried to get the best of him and it pissed him off. He wasn't planning on hurting Sam, knowing the little bit of emotions he accessed that it would make him feel guilty, but dammed if this kid wasn't the bane of his existence. All good emotions of Sam aside he remembered all the times Sam has pissed him off. All the times he was defiant, all the times they fought, and even a few of the times when his defiance got either him, Dean, or even Sam himself hurt on a routine hunt.

Sam saw the look of hatred cross the shifter's face. He's seen a look similar to it on his dad's face, but not the magnitude the shifter is showing right now. He knew this thing had to be unstable or else he wouldn't be in this situation to begin with. Now this thing looked haunted and downright scary. He wanted to fight, wanted to buck this thing off of him and make a daring escape and find his family. Now that he knew his family was alive and waiting for him, it gave him some sense of hope. But after seeing the look on the shifter's face, he quickly stilled. His own eyes going a bit wide before settling down. Pissing off a monster probably wasn't his best choice with his head injury. He was slower to process what he was doing, and this time it cost him. He saw the creature move its face towards him. Pure hatred written all over its features.

"I'm sure they will try. But you will be dead before they come close to it."

Mathis had enough of this game. He needed to get to where he was going NOW!

He shifted himself off of Sam's legs. He looked at the kid and saw fear on his face. He knew he was trying to hide it, but it was written all over his features. After he stood up he quickly reached down and grabbed Sam by his arm. He pulled him up and dragged the reluctant kid to the truck where he slammed him hard against the side door, making Sam start to breath faster threw the pain. Mathis got close to his face.

"Don't you move. If you run I will catch you and you don't want to know what will happen after that."

Mathis left his side and went to his duffel in the front seat while Sam didn't move. He was in no position to make a run for it at this moment. He did look around the ground for any kind of weapon, but he found weak looking sticks and just pebbles lining the road. Nothing that could help him.

Mathis came back with more rope and a knife. He held Sam still against the door and raised the weapon. Sam was sure he was going to stab him in the chest, but it came down and sliced through the rope on his wrists. Before he could even think of coming up with a plan, he was roughly turned around and his arms were brought in back of him. He felt his already sore wrists being tied tightly behind him. Next some rope was brought over his head and was being tied around his arms.

Once Mathis was done he pulled at Sam's arm so that he was facing the kid again. He pulled the knife back up and put it against Sam's cheek. Seeing that Sam was scared put a grin to his face. He brought the knife up to his throat, and pressed so Sam's head tilted back slightly.

"You really think daddy and dear brother will enjoy getting you in the mail one piece at a time? Now behave for me or else I'll have to do something we will both regret."

Sam didn't want it to show on his face that he was scared. He wanted to say some smart ass remark like Dean would, but his vocal cords were frozen. All he could do was stare at his captor.

Satisfied, Mathis took the knife away. He opened the back door and shoved Sam inside. This time he put rope around his ankles and tied it tight. Once he was satisfied, he closed the door and made his way to the front driver's seat. He glanced in the rear-view mirror to see a defeated looking Sam looking back at him. The puppy dog look on his face almost made him forget about this whole mission and let Sam go. But he had to remind himself that he wasn't John, this wasn't his youngest child, and he was a stone cold killer and was not a soft at heart father. He shook his head and decided to start driving. He also had to make a call. Picking up the cell phone he quickly found John's number, and hit dial.

It didn't take long for John to answer his phone.

 _"_ _Sammy?"_

"Sorry John, not Sam. But I must say you did a great job raising your kids. But tell me, how is it you didn't kill your own son by now? He is defiant and won't listen to a dam thing I say! I don't know how you spent twenty something years with him and didn't kill him. What's your secret cause my patience is running thin."

" _You son of a bitch! What did you do to Sam?"_

"Nothing yet, but believe me I'm more than willing to put you and Dean out of your misery and just kill him right now."

" _You don't touch him!"_

"To late for that."

Sam was listening to the conversation from the backseat. He so desperately wanted to call out to his family, but he didn't want the creature to stop the truck and torture him while his family listened. So he kept quit for now. Until he heard a voice he was longing to hear.

 _"_ _I swear to god if you touch him you are dead!"_ The unmistakable voice of Dean. That made Sam's head pop up and look at Mathis.

"Dean! Dean I'm ok!" Sam shouted from the backseat. He didn't mean to do it, but he lost his reserve after hearing his family voices, and knowing one-hundred percent that they were alive and looking for him.

"Shut up back there!" Mathis didn't want Sam to talk. ' _Dam should have just gagged him.'_

Mathis shook his head and talked into the phone.

"If you ever want to see Sammy again keep your end of the bargain." With that he just hung up. He looked back up into the mirror and caught Sam's face.

"You are a defiant little prick. I can't wait to spill your blood while your family watches."

Sam's breathing picked up a little. He wanted his family to be with him right now, He wanted Dean to be there with him. He laid his head back and looked out the window. This was going to be a long drive.

 ***Thank you for reading! Again if there are any big mistakes, just let me know and I will fix them. Other than that I hope you are enjoying!***


	10. Chapter 10

***Hi! Sorry for posting this late. The kids went back to school at my work which means I have been given a few extra shifts, and I have been tired and slowly working on this. Thanks for being super patient. (:***

 ***ALSO I officially put up several stories on my profile page that I will be writing in the future. It's a good way for me to remember my ideas and now you guys can look and see what's coming next if you want to.***

 ***I HAVE NO BETA ALL SPELLING/GRAMMAR MISTAKES ARE MINE. As always if something needs to be fixed or doesn't make sense, let me know and I will re-write the chapter. Until then happy readings!***

Everyone was both dreading and anxious to meet up with Mathis and Sam. No one knew what was going to happen during the 'exchange', but they were hoping it wasn't going to end in bloodshed. Unless it was Mathis of course.

John, Dean and Toby arrived at the scene first. You could practically feel the anger in the air as the three men kept an eye out for Mathis and Sam. Now was the time to put their grand motion in plan, and hope it wasn't going to end badly.

Not much later headlights were seen in the darkness headed their way. The two men instantly froze up knowing what was ahead of them. Slowly but surely they exited the vehicle, and stood in front of the car. They didn't want to make any more sudden movements, for Sam's life was on the line.

As Mathis and Sam were pulling up Sam was becoming antsy. If it was one thing he hated it was being helpless, and right now that was the predicament he was in. He hastily tried to loosen the rope binding his wrists in the back, but dam it if this creature didn't acquire ALL of John's handy Marine abilities. He did start to feel a little better upon seeing the familiar impala parked not too far away from where he was now. A small smile crept upon his face knowing his family was just inside that car, and he wasn't alone with the monster anymore.

Sam was brought out of his thoughts when Mathis turned to him.

"Showtime kiddo." The words made Sam freeze. John was an intimidating man to begin with, let alone a monster wearing John's face.

Sam watched carefully as Mathis got out of the truck, and made his way to the back seat. Sam tried to make himself as small as possible leaning against the opposite door, but there was slack to the rope around his arms that laid on the backseat next to him. Mathis tugged hard making Sam yelp as he was pulled forcefully from the backseat of the truck and into the waiting arms on this monster. He had one strong arm around Sam's chest while holding him in front of him like a human shield. The other hand held a long shard knife that was practically glowing in the moonlight. The second Sam was settled in the shifter's arms the knife came across his throat, making him still his movements as he moved his head to rest against the shoulder of the monster holding him captive. With his arms and ankles securely tied, he wasn't going anywhere.

John and Dean were on guard as Mathis seemed to be saying something to Sam. They straightened up when he got out of the truck, and became furious when they saw him roughly pull Sam out of the back of it. They quickly took in the sight of him noticing he didn't seem to have any serious damage done to him, but the fact that he was tied up like a thanksgiving turkey didn't settle them in the least. Who the hell knows what this monster did to him while in his captivity?

With a snarl on his face Dean reached for the gun in his jeans, until he noticed Sam being pulled in front of Mathis so he didn't have a clean shot. Not to mention there was a huge knife pressed dangerously against his throat. He knew he was going to have to play his cards carefully so Sam didn't get hurt.

John noticed the same things Dean did. Especially the fact that this thing holding his youngest son hostage was wearing his face. It was an odd thing to witness, but he had to keep his cool about him.

He knew by the look on Dean's face that he was just itching to take action. He knew his oldest wouldn't do anything to intentionally put Sam's life in danger, but right now they both wanted him away from the monster. Even if it meant a bullet through the kids shoulder so maybe they could get him away from Mathis long enough to take him down. Unfortunately, the knife was way too close to Sam's throat, and they knew the slightest movement from them would end badly.

As if reading their minds, Mathis spoke up.

"Take out your guns, and kick them to the side. Then I want you to bring me my amulet."

Reluctantly both men did as they were told. They threw their guns on either side of them, making a loud sound as they hit the ground. Of course they had other weapons stashed away, but they were saving those silver blades for when Sam was safe and Mathis was down for the count. Mathis grinned and spoke again.

"Now Dean I want you to be a good little soldier, and bring me my amulet. Once you put it in front of me, I'll give you Sam."

Judging by the grin on his face both Dean and John knew he was lying, but right now they didn't have a choice.

Dean slowly opened his duffel that was on the ground and took out something that was wrapped in cloth. He unwrapped it and the blood red gem shone like a beacon. The look on Mathis's face was sickening. He stood up with the amulet in hand and showed it to him, but not before speaking his peace.

"I'll put it half way between us and step back, then you let Sam go."

Dean watched as Sam let out a whimper and saw a small train of blood coming from his neck where the blade was.

"No! You put it right in front of me and back away or he dies!"

Seeing the small trickle of blood coming from his little brother's neck was sickening.

"Ok ok, just don't hurt him!"

Dean moved slowly towards Mathis and Sam, making sure not to make any sudden movements. He tried to make eye contact with his brother but by the way the knife was pressed up against his throat his head was tilted upwards more than forwards.

Dean got as close as possible with the stone in hand, and looked at Mathis right in the eye. It was weird seeing his father's face holding a knife to his little brother's neck.

"Listen. Take me instead."

That peeked Mathis's interest. He became serious and looked Dean right in the eyes.

"What do you mean boy?"

"I mean I know about the ritual that you have to do, and I'm not stupid. I'm thinking you were going to get the stone and use Sam's blood as the sacrifice, am I right?"

"I underestimated you. Here I thought Sam was the smart one. A pain in the ass, but the smart one."

"Slit my throat, take my blood, and let Sam go. We have the same blood after all."

It was a deal Dean was making with the enemy so that his Sammy would be safe. It was a deal he would make over and over again as long as Sam was out of harm's way.

"No Dean don't." Sam whispered, wanting desperately to talk Dean out of the bargain, but he was met with the knife pressing just a little bit harder into his skin.

"It's ok Sammy. I know I have to do this."

Mathis thought about it for a second. Sure he would rather use Sam's blood for the sacrifice, but a willing participate would heighten the energy and make it more powerful. Especially if the sacrifice was made out of love. He seemed to look between the two boys, and came to a decision.

"It's a trade."

Mathis took the blade away from Sam's neck and harshly shoved him to the ground, making him land with a thump. Just as quickly he grabbed Dean by his short hair, and tilted his neck back.

Looking into his new victim's eyes, he smiled.

With one quick swipe of the blade he sliced through Dean's neck, and blood started pouring out.

"NOOOOOOO!" Sam screamed from the ground and tried his best to get loose. He can't believe what he just saw! The shifter wearing his father's face just slit his brother's neck! Tears were streaming down his face as he looked at Dean and noticed the amulet still gripped tight in his now shaking hands. Blood was oozing down from his neck, under his shirt and leather jacket and eventually meeting up with the stone in his hand. It wasn't long before the stone was significantly covered in dark red blood.

~*SPN*~

Sam's world came crashing down around him as he witnessed his brother's neck being sliced open. He saw Dean's whole body tremble under the shock.

Tears came down Sam's face as he stared in disbelief, then he looked and saw Dean still holding the amulet, and blood was starting to cover it. Now not only was his whole world gone, but Mathis was going to use the power of the sacrifice to destroy everything else.

Suddenly strong arms came around him, one around his chest and one covering his mouth. He tried to scream but it came out as muffled, while at the same time he was being dragged away from the scene. He then heard a very familiar and impossible voice whisper in his ear as he was being dragged.

"Ssshhh Sammy don't make a sound. You're safe now."

Sam's eyes widened in disbelief, _'_ _this HAS to be a sick trick_.' Sam thought. Although it didn't feel like a trick.

Finally, he was away from the horrific sight of his brother being murdered and was surrounded by trees and bushes. He was gently sat down on the ground and tried to look around for the owner of the stolen voice. Finally, the mystery person took his hands off of Sam's mouth and crouched down in front of him. It was Dean. Sam's eyes bugged out as Dean took out a knife.

"Sammy stop moving. I have to cut you free before he realizes what's going on."

Dean started sawing away at the ropes on Sam's wrists and around his chest. Once those fell to the floor Sam pulled back his arm and hit Dean right in the face making him fall backwards.

Dean sat up and rubbed at his jaw.

"That's the thanks I get for rescuing you?" There was no malice or hurt in his words, just concern.

"What the hell is going on?! I just saw you get your throat sliced open!"

"Dam it Sammy keep it down. That wasn't me. That bastard had a partner that looked just like me, and kind of fortunately thought like me. I can explain later but for right now, we have to get out of here."

Dean moved closer to Sam who flinched back. It was almost impossible to know who exactly to trust and not to trust anymore when everyone looked like everyone else!

Deans aw the trepidation in his brother's eyes while holding the knife to make a move to cut his bindings on his feet.

"Sammy it's the real me ok? Once I get you out of here I can explain everything."

Dean finished cutting through the rope on Sam's ankles. Right after that Sam started throwing up and getting chills. Dean rubbed his back and sat down next to him. He could feel his little brother shivering and hear him sobbing. He knew it was going to be hard having Sam watch as his brother was killed, so shock must be settling in. He had to get Sam to a hospital fast.

"It's ok dude. It's ok." Dean tried to sooth his aching brother.

Sam looked at Dean like he was six years old again, looking up at a ten-year-old Dean wanting to make everything better.

"Dean…it's really you?"

"Yeah. It is."

Manly Winchester pride be dammed to hell Sam leapt forward and threw his arms around his big brother. One minute Dean was slowly dying and the next he was saving him. Leave it to Dean to give him small heart attacks. Dean hugged Sam back just as hard. The phone calls and the images Toby was putting his head didn't help the separation.

Finally, the boys looked at each other. They were still at arm's length not ready to let each other go just yet.

"Come on Sammy. Part of this rescue mission is I get you as far away from that bastard as humanly possible. Can you walk?"

Sam nodded his head yes. Dean helped Sam to his feet, and just as quickly a gun shot was heard, as well as an un-earthly scream.

Both boys looked in the direction and froze.

"Dean that sounded like dad."

"I don't think it was. I think dad shot the shifter."

"What if the shifter shot dad?" Both boys looked at each other fearfully. Dean spoke.

"Ok look. There's a path over there past those trees. Follow it and I'll catch up, I just want to make sure."

"Dean I'm coming with you. If dad's in danger I'm not leaving you alone with that thing."

Dean turned and looked at Sam.

"I'm not ready to put you in harm's way again when I JUST got you back. No you walk that way and I will go investigate."

"I'll follow you." Sam wasn't feeling one-hundred percent yet, but he wasn't just about to walk away when his father might need him. And after seeing his brother look alike getting killed he wasn't ready to let him go as easily either. Yet Dean could be just as stubborn as Sam if not more so.

"I even think you're following me and I'll tie you back up and come back for you later."

Sam's whole body sagged. He could fight his big brother tooth and nail, but when it came things like his safety Dean always came out on top. And he could tell by the look on his face that he really would tie him back up and come back when everything was safe.

"Fine. I'll start walking."

Dean saw the look in his brother's eye and knew he had won. He visibly relaxed.

"Good. I'll meet up with you soon ok?"

"Dean. Stay safe. That guy fights dirty."

With that Sam started reluctantly walking away from his brother. His brother he saw being murdered right before his eyes while he was helpless to stop it. He kept looking back at Dean's retreating back and regretting letting Dean just walk right back into danger. Sam himself knew he was in no condition to fight, and might just be a distraction to his family. But he couldn't just let Dean go without backup. Even if their dad was fine and the shifter was just wounded, three against one was a much better odd. And if it was the other way around and his father was injured two against one was a better odd. He would rather have his brother's back in a fight then walk away down the safe path of the forest to just to wait and see the outcome.

Sam stopped walking and came to a conclusion. He may be weakened with the concussion, but as always he drew strength from his family. And as the image of his brother's throat being slashed kept re-playing in his head he knew what he had to do.

Angrily Sam snapped a tree branch making sure it was nice and pointed. He had to go back and make sure his family was safe.

 ***I know I said this was kind of the last chapter, but there may be 1 more after this or maybe even 2! We will see where this story takes me. R &R and let me know what you think!***


	11. Chapter 11

***This is the last chapter! I want to thank everyone who commented/liked/favorited, basically whoever put me on their alerts. It means a lot to me.* ^_^**

 ***This story has no beta so all mistakes are my own! If something about the story doesn't make sense, let me know and I will correct it.***

 ***I have new synopsis's of future stories on my profile page. Go ahead and check them out if you want to know what will be coming out next! BTW they are not in order.***

 ***ENJOY!***

Knowing Sam was safely walking in the opposite direction of where the fighting was taking place made Dean walk fast towards where he knew the battle was just beginning. Sure having Sam present to help out would have been a plus, but he wasn't ready to have his brother get hurt but this bastard again. The shifter having John's memories knew how much Sam meant to them both, and he would use that to his advantage once again. With determination, Dean quickened his pace. He couldn't wait to waste this bitch.

~*SPN*~

John watched out of the corner of his eye as Dean quietly snuck up behind Sam and made a hastily retreat into the safety of the woods. He wasn't about to give away what was going on with a smirk, so once his boys were out of harm's way he turned back to the shifter wearing his face and focused on what to do next.

It was a horrifying sight watching someone with Dean's face having his throat slit open like that. It was even more horrifying watching someone wearing John's face enjoying it. He had to keep reminding himself that his boys were fine, and these guys were monsters.

~*SPN*~

Mathis was honored to see the look in Dean's eyes as blood came rushing out of his neck, down his arm, and into the red amulet. Not only did he kill a Winchester, he was about to get great power.

Finally, it seemed as if Dean had died. Mathis took the amulet from Dean's hands, and pushed the lifeless body to the ground. He held the amulet up to his face, and waited for a reaction. After a few seconds it started to glow and it gave off a hum.

"Just a few more minutes, and I will be the most powerful being in the world!" Mathis started to feed off the energy of the amulet, but after a few seconds the smile was wiped from his face, and he looked at John.

"What the hell is going on here? The energy is all wrong!"

The amulet was still humming, and then shattered. Gem pieces scattered everywhere, shooting into a million different directions. Unfortunately for Mathis most of the tiny shards landed directly in his face, making him scream in pain and anger. He pulled himself together long enough to give a furious look at John.

"What the hell happened?!"

John took the distraction and already had his gun raised. Mathis saw this almost too late. Once the bullet was fired the shifter bolted to the side, and the bullet hit his ribs instead of his heart. He bolted to the front end of his truck.

"Come on out Mathis! It's over, you lost!"

"I'm still alive John! This isn't over!" Panting he looked around. He knew he left a tied up Sam nearby, and if he could get to him first he would be all set. But looking to where he left him there was no one there!

"Where's your boy John? No way he got up and walked away on his own! Tell me, why would scum like Tobias sacrifice himself for your family like that?"

John was slowly moving around the truck and listening to the shifter. He was wondering how long it would take for him to find out exactly what had happened. He was hoping it would have taken longer, but he knew that Dean was with Sam and he wouldn't let him get hurt. They just had to follow the path and they would be safe. He could take care of Mathis on his own.

Mathis also started circling the truck. He sensed John would make a move once he seemed to be down, but he wasn't going down without a fight either.

"There was one flaw with your plan. Dean's strong, stronger than you gave him credit for. And your shifter was weak of mind. Dean's instincts won."

John rounded the truck and saw no one there. Dam this bastard could be anywhere! Had to shoot him in the heart to permanently kill him. He kept looking for any signs of where Mathis might be, there was a faint blood trail rounding the truck. John decided to double back thinking the shifter was going to try and come up behind him. He turned the other corner and still nothing. It was too late to notice that the stealthy shifter was on top of the roof, when he came crashing down on top of John, knocking them both to the hard ground. John lost his gun as they both started fighting.

~*SPN*~

Dean got out of the woods and to where everything was taking place. He heard more than saw the two figures that looked like his father punching each other on the ground. He then saw his dad's gun not too far away from the fight, and made a lunge for it. There was blood everywhere on the ground, he was hoping it wasn't his dad's. he lifted it up towards the two figures.

"HEY!" Dean made his presence known, and the two figures stopped attacking each other and looking wide eyed at Dean. The shifter rolled off of John and got to his feet.

"Dean thank goodness! He was going to kill me!"

Dean cocked one eyebrow. "Are you serious? You think I'm stupid? Your face is torn to shit! If you were my father you would show just a little bit more pain than you currently are. I know he's stubborn but not THAT stubborn."

The gun in Dean's hands was aimed right at the bastard's heart. Mathis smiled at Dean.

"Well, they all say Sam's the smart one."

Again last minute the shifter moved out of the way just as Dean fired. He got hit in the arm this time, and headed right for the thick cover of the forest.

~*SPN*~

Sam was coming out of the forest just as a figure was coming in. They were about to collided as Sam stopped short. He almost didn't recognize the shifter with his father's face since it was covered in blood and what looked like glass shards sticking out everywhere. Upon seeing him he immediately froze and his eyes went wide. He went to turn and run but was grabbed, he let his hunter's instincts take control as he expertly punched the shifter in the face, but upon doing so ended up getting some small shards embedded in his knuckles. He only took a few seconds to look at his hand but it was enough time for the shifter to pull himself together and punch Sam hard in the face. Sam went down hard, the shifter was standing over him when he heard leaves and branches crunching behind him. Knowing it was either John, Dean or both, he quickly grabbed Sam and held him tight in front of him. By the time he saw both John and Dean burst through the thick woods, he already had one arm around Sam's chest, and the other arm around his throat.

"Don't move!" The shifter yelled while keeping a firm hold on Sam.

John and Dean stopped right in their tracks upon hearing the shifter, and seeing Sam right in front of him being used as a human shield. Sam appeared to be unconscious and had a new gash on his forehead, but other than that seemed ok.

The sight before Dean made him furious. Sam was supposed to be safely walking in the opposite direction of the danger, not walking right into it! First things first, get Sam away from the bad guy, THEN be angry at him.

With all the anger Dean could produce, the threats started coming out of his mouth before he could even think. "Get away from him or you're dead! I'll slowly rip you limb from limb and you will be dead before you even hit the ground!"

"That's some threat for the guy holding your little brother! Now this is how this is going to work, I'm taking Sam with me, and the two of you are going to find yet another amulet, and I'm not going to be so nice to him this time." Mathis started walking backwards with Sam in tow. Through the blood you could see a pissed off expression on his now twisted and mangled face. Then suddenly Mathis stumbled forward with an "OOMPH!" Sam went flying and Dean was ready to catch him with his waiting arms. John took out his gun and shot the bastard right in the heart. He watched as the life drained from his eyes, and he was finally down for the count. John looked up when he saw someone behind him and couldn't believe it. Tobias was standing behind where Mathis was formally standing and had a huge branch in his hands. Upon seeing that Mathis was down for good, he relaxed and dropped the branch. He looked up and saw relief on John's face and horror on Dean's. He reached up and put his now free hand to his still injured and sliced neck. He turned to where Sam was in Dean's arms and became concerned.

"He ok?"

Dean hugged Sam a little closer to him when the shifter spoke. Toby saved Sam's life, but he still had a problem trusting him. He was a shifter after all.

"He's fine." Dean didn't take his eyes off Toby, and Toby got the message loud and clear. He shook his head and took one more look at Sam before moving his attention to John.

"You going to kill me now?" Toby knew how all of this was going to end. In the end, he was the bad guy, and he was a co-conspirator in kidnapping Sam. He knew that once Mathis was dead and Sam was safe, that he was a dead man.

"Dean, take Sam to the car."

Dean looked between his father and Toby. "Dad…"

"Son, take Sam to the car. I'll take care of _him_."

Dean mumbled something under his breath. He then positioned a still unconscious Sam so that he had one arm under his knees and one under his back. With a grunt he stood back up, all 6'4" of little brother in his arms. Just before he was about to walk away, Tobias spoke.

"You know, it's easier to carry him up if he's over your shoulder."

Dean stopped with Sam in his arms and practically growled at Toby, who saw the look Dean was giving him and backed down. He looked down at the ground and shuffled his feet. Dean looked at his father, then walked away into the night.

~*SPN*~

John knew it had to come to this. It seemed as if as long as the shifter was in Dean's form, he wouldn't harm Sam. But the second he was in any other form, he might come back and try to kill everyone. After all this is a dangerous creature we're dealing with here. One who did help kidnap Sam. On the other hand he saved Sam, twice. The second time wasn't planned, but John noticed Toby's neck was still heavily bleeding and he was pale. He was able to heal himself enough to save Sam and help take Mathis down for the count.

Tobias looked up at John with a forlorn look on his face. "Do what you have to do John. I'm a monster. I understand."

John nodded his head, picked up his gun, and fired.

~*SPN*~

Dean made it back to the impala without any problems. Mathis was dead and Tobias was about to be killed by his father. He had heard the fatal gunshot not to long after leaving the site with Sam in tow, and for once he was able to breath.

He checked the gash on Sam's head, and even though it knocked him out, it wasn't life threatening in the slightest. He was also able to pull the gem slices out of Sam's knuckles and bandage him up. Knowing that Sam was breathing and his heart beat was steady, Dean settled in the passenger side of the impala while Sam was awkwardly laid out in the back. He would take quick glimpses at his brother, almost to make sure he was still there, and him being there wasn't some sick trick.

A couple of hours later John came walking out of the woods. He had soot on his hands and a little on his face. Dean was standing guard, holding a shot gun, the second he saw a figure coming towards them that shot gun was up and ready. Upon seeing his father, he was still a little hesitant.

"Dean it's me. Put that thing down."

"Just humor me and cut yourself with silver. Just a little."

John wanted to argue but knew it was no use. Dean wasn't going to put down the shot gun until he was positive it was John. He took out his silver knife, showed it to Dean, and slowly cut it over his hand.

Dean recognized it was his father's knife cutting him across the hand. The second his father shown him he was unaffected by the silver, Dean put the gun down. John gladly got into the driver's seat, and Dean settled in the passenger seat.

"They're dead?" Dean asked almost knowing the question but had to be sure.

"Yeah. Just burnt the bodies myself."

Dean nodded. It was an amazing feeling knowing the threats were dead and done with. John started up the engine and Dean looked back at Sam.

"He ok?" John asked. He would never get used to seeing either of his boys injured.

"Yeah, he'll be alright." Dean smiled because he knew Sam was going to be alright. He would except nothing less.

The car sped off into the dark on night. As the tail lights lit up a part of the forest, concerned hazel eyes turned to white for a second before turning back to hazel, and he smiled.

 **The** **End**

 ***Let me know if you didn't get the ending and I will revise it, but yes I'm planning a sequel to just about all my stories including this one. I hope you enjoyed it!***


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